Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa, recently highlighted a staggering global challenge: illicit financial flows rob Africa of an estimated US$88 billion annually – funds that could be used to build schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and jobs.
While the deputy minister’s words resonate, the harsh reality is that Zimbabwe is among the continent’s worst offenders, with corruption deeply entrenched within the ruling party, Zanu PF.
Despite the country’s rich mineral endowment, local communities remain mired in poverty. In diamond-rich regions like Chiadzwa and Marange, years of mining have yielded nothing for residents: no new schools, no modern clinics, no jobs, and no improved livelihoods – only hunger, unemployment, and decayed infrastructure.
Other mining areas tell similar stories. In Penhalonga, underground tunnels threaten homes, turning entire neighborhoods into hazards. Kwekwe’s land has been so extensively mined that parts of the central business district risk collapse. Boterekwa in Shurugwi bears the scars of mountain-scale excavation, leaving once-beautiful landscapes ravaged.
For decades, Zimbabwe’s minerals have been siphoned off through opaque deals, shell companies, and politically connected cartels. Diamonds, gold, and chrome have enriched elites and foreign partners while leaving communities destitute, rivers polluted, houses collapsing, and lungs filled with dust.
Farmers in Mazowe, for example, are forced to sell livestock at a fraction of their value as cyanide-contaminated water threatens their herds. Across the country, there is no tangible benefit from the mineral wealth that should belong to the people.
This is not merely mismanagement – it is deliberate. Mining rights are granted to cronies, tenders awarded to politically connected individuals, and so-called investors selected to partake in the “gravy train” rather than develop communities. While global discussions focus on tax havens, Zimbabweans endure broad daylight looting at home, sanctioned by political power and secrecy.
Until the government prioritizes its people over the elite, ensures transparency in the mining sector, and converts mineral wealth into tangible development, speeches about lost billions remain hollow.
Zimbabwe’s billions of mineral-derived revenue could transform the economy, create industries, and generate jobs. Instead, the money disappears into offshore accounts, flashy convoys, political campaigns, and elite enrichment.
For communities living above hollowed-out mines, the promise of wealth remains a cruel illusion. Unless the extractive system is dismantled and accountability enforced, the cycle of looting will continue, leaving schools crumbling, hospitals under-resourced, and futures irreparably damaged.
Source – Bulawayo24
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