By Staff Reporter
Villagers from five communities in Gutu East, are facing potential displacement to pave way for a US$800 million lithium mining project.
The lithium mining project which will be conducted by an Indian mining company Talis, under Chief Mazuru’s jurisidiction has raised eviction concerns.
Villagers fear displacements and inadequate compensation, drawing parallels to the displacement issues experienced by Marange communities during the diamond mining boom.
At a recent Community Tolerance Reconciliation and Development (COTRAD) meeting, villagers in Mafudze voiced serious concerns about how the mining operations could affect their homes and livelihoods.
Sarah Moyo, spokesperson for the affected villagers said they feared what happened to villagers from Marange will also happen to them.
“We are worried that history is repeating itself, the Marange villagers were uprooted from their homes without fair compensation, and we do not want to suffer the same fate.”
The 2006 Marange diamond rush was marked by significant human rights abuses, including the forced removal of thousands of villagers.
Many received little to no compensation, leaving lasting social and economic hardships in its wake.
Another affected villager Farai Marecha said Talis mining company has not yet consulted them; however Talis company workers have already started early stage work.
“We heard about it but the company had not yet consulted us. There are lots of evictions happening in Masvingo province because of government-backed companies wanting to do their projects in our village we are scared that we might face forced eviction
“Right now they are taking samples in Musimudziwa village in ward 13 Gutu East constituency and we do not know what will happen since they never consulted us about the project,” Marecha said.
Meanwhile provincial permanent secretary Dr. Addmore Pazvakavambwa acknowledged the development and assured villagers that they would not be removed from their land.
“l can confirm that Tallis mining company will be mining lithium in Gutu East and it will create 3000 jobs in the first 2 years of the project. The villagers will be the first beneficiaries and l assure them that they will not be forced to evict the land,” he said.
