Chinese miners bring their destructive practices to Redcliff

I fondly remember my childhood years in the 1980s in my hometown of Redcliff.

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In particular, I look back with yearning at the times my late father, who was an ardent fisherman, would take my late mother and me fishing at the nearby Cactus Poort Dam along the Kwekwe River.

Those were memorable days that bonded our small family in the most beautiful way.

We would spend long, joyous afternoons at the clubhouse by the dam, enjoying food and drinks while watching with fascination and envy as others took to the water for canoeing, speed boating, and water skiing.

My late best friend, Brian Taurai Murau, and I often ventured to the dam to explore the area, seizing the chance in our parents’ absence to engage in the risky adventure of walking along the narrow dam wall or climbing the high cliffs and rugged hills that surrounded it.

As Boy Scouts, we even used Cactus Poort Dam for camping expeditions, learning to fish, cook on open fires, make gadgets from bamboo and rope, and hike the mountain overlooking the water.

Those were the good old days—when Redcliff was still a clean, beautiful, and peaceful town built around nature and community.

But those cherished memories were painfully shattered this morning when I received reports from angry residents about the shocking level of destruction now taking place at Cactus Poort Dam due to reckless mining activities by a Chinese company.

The outrage had been triggered by a massive blast during the night that shook homes across Redcliff and filled the air with suffocating dust.

This was not an isolated incident—residents say these blasts have become a regular nightmare.

Those living near the dam now fear that their homes—some built in the 1960s and 70s—may soon crack or collapse from the constant tremors.

Ironically, these homes were built by the then Rhodesia Iron and Steel Company (RISCO), which, unlike the Chinese miners of today, showed responsibility and foresight.

RISCO not only built Redcliff’s houses, schools, and shopping centers, but also hospitals, recreational clubs, and sports facilities.

It cared for its workers and for the town it helped create.

Now, decades later, foreign investors have come—not to build, but to destroy.

Videos circulating among residents show Chinese miners operating heavy machinery and blasting right next to the dam.

I was utterly shocked and heartbroken to see the same pristine environment of my childhood now reduced to rubble and dust.

They are literally mining into the mountain beside the dam and disturbing the very foundations of this historic water body.

This is the same dam where my family, like so many others in Redcliff, once fished for food and peace of mind.

This was a source of recreation and pride for the community—bringing visitors for boating, camping, and tourism.

Today, it faces ruin.

Worse still, Cactus Poort Dam lies along the Kwekwe River, which supplies vital water to farmers downstream—both commercial and subsistence.

If the mining continues unchecked, contamination and siltation will inevitably destroy the livelihoods of countless farmers and threaten food security for families dependent on small-scale agriculture.

Once the dam and river are polluted by mining waste, it will take generations to recover, if ever.

This pattern of destruction is not new.

Across Zimbabwe, Chinese mining companies have left behind a trail of ecological and social devastation.

From Hwange to Binga, from Mutoko to Bikita, we see mountains blasted apart, rivers poisoned, forests stripped bare, and communities displaced without compensation.

In some areas, local villagers have been forced off ancestral land at gunpoint to make way for Chinese mining projects.

In others, streams that once sustained whole communities have been diverted or dried up entirely due to reckless extraction.

In Hwange, for instance, an entire community that had painstakingly built its own dam in the 1960s—using their bare hands and simple tools—was stripped of that precious resource when a Chinese mining company took it over.

Villagers who once relied on the dam for their livestock and gardens are now barred from accessing it, forced to watch from a distance as the water they created sustains foreign profit.

When some among them dared to protest this injustice, they were arrested—punished for defending what rightfully belongs to them.

The human toll is equally appalling.

Workers endure unsafe conditions, long hours, and starvation wages.

Reports abound of brutal treatment by Chinese supervisors—beatings, verbal abuse, and in some tragic cases, workers being killed by their Chinese employers.

Young girls in mining areas are exploited, sexually abused, and even married off to Chinese miners, often with the silent complicity of local officials eager to protect “investors.”

This environmental and social carnage is happening in clear violation of Zimbabwean law.

The Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27] explicitly requires that no mining or industrial activity be undertaken without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate issued by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).

It also compels all developers to take measures to prevent pollution, rehabilitate mined areas, and protect water sources.

Similarly, the Mines and Minerals Act [Chapter 21:05] emphasizes that mining rights do not exempt holders from complying with environmental standards and local by-laws.

Yet, in practice, these laws are treated as meaningless paper when Chinese companies are involved.

What is even more disturbing is the apparent complicity—or at least negligence—of our local authorities and government agencies.

How can mining be allowed right next to a major dam and water source?

How can heavy blasting occur in close proximity to residential areas without intervention?

Are environmental inspectors turning a blind eye, or are they being silenced through corruption and political pressure?

These are questions that demand urgent answers.

What is happening in Redcliff is not just an environmental issue—it is a question of sovereignty, accountability, and self-respect.

Why are we allowing foreign investors to do in our country what they would never be permitted to do in their own?

In China itself, strict laws prohibit mining near rivers, dams, or residential areas.

Yet, here in Zimbabwe, they are free to wreak havoc without consequence—all in the name of “investment.”

The tragedy of Cactus Poort Dam reflects a broader crisis in Zimbabwe’s governance.

We have become so desperate for foreign capital that we are willing to sell our soul, our land, and our future for a few coins.

We are told these “investments” will create jobs and boost the economy—but what kind of development destroys the environment, endangers lives, and leaves behind nothing but craters and poisoned soil?

As Zimbabweans, we can no longer afford to remain silent.

We cannot continue to hide behind fear while our country is being torn apart.

Our children and grandchildren deserve to inherit rivers that flow, mountains that stand, and soil that produces food—not barren wastelands stripped of life and dignity.

We must demand transparency in mining contracts, accountability from local and central authorities, and strict enforcement of environmental laws.

Civil society, churches, and communities must unite to resist this environmental imperialism disguised as “investment.”

It is time to say: enough is enough.

If we fail to act now, Redcliff will soon be nothing more than a memory—a ghost town standing beside a polluted, lifeless dam.

And all those childhood memories of fishing, boating, and laughter at Cactus Poort will remain just that—memories of a paradise we allowed others to destroy.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/