to pay monthly rentals of US$40 each for houses in such a deplorable state. No new workers’
houses have been built post-independence. The company has also failed to pay workers their
salaries for more than 24 months.
The gendered impacts of the colliery mining operations are manifested in the challenges
faced by women from within the colliery. Amongst the Colliery’s employees are women who
have to bear the brunt of not only working under very harsh conditions but conditions which
are also not feminine friendly. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is not adequate. Those
working in dusty environments are not provided with respirators.
Most of the women are single mothers. Just like their male counterparts the women have not
been receiving their salaries since November 2013. They are finding it difficult to put food
on the table and more send their children to school. They are even struggling to buy sanitary
products. Such circumstances violate the Right to Food; the Right to Education; and again
Right to Health care as espoused in Chapter Four of the Constitution.
Spouses of the Colliery’s male employees have not been spared from this dire situation. The
women have been forced to demonstrate against the Colliery Company on behalf of their
husbands who are not at liberty to take industrial action against the company due to
intimidation from state security agents in and around the colliery. Some women have resorted
to engaging in promiscuous relationships which have resulted in families breaking up.
The mining related conflicts are evident in the relationship between Hwange Colliery and the
Hwange Local Board. The Hwange Local Board wants to extend its administrative
jurisdiction over Hwange Town but the Colliery Company is resisting such a move and wants
to maintain control over the town which falls under its estates department and generates
income for the company by way of property rentals.
Concerns have been raised over the composition of the Hwange Colliery Board. None of the
current Board members are from Hwange or from within the region. The Board members are
not connected to the local communities and chances of the communities’ concerns not being
given due attention are high.
The scenario of multiple authorities in Hwange, that is, Hwange Colliery Company, Hwange
Rural District Council and Hwange Local Board, is stifling development of the area for the
betterment of its community as the three parties have different and competing priorities.
Hwange town is a company town and residents have no say on how it is managed and how it
should be developed.
Political interference in the management of Hwange Colliery Company and its resources
cannot be ruled out otherwise how does one explain a situation where the management troops
to a political party fund raising dinner when its workers are not being paid their salaries. The
management appear to have been cowed to attend the event. Such a scenario would be
expected given that the Board and the managing director are more of political appointees than
professionals.
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