Towards Local Management Of Mineral Resources In Zimbabwe An Analysis Of Opportunities And Constraints

A CASS Working Paper on managing locally Zimbabwe's mineral resources.In Zimbabwe today, the State - through its various agencies - is the dominant player in die mining sector, from issuing prospecting licenses right up to marketing. The Mines and Minerals Act (chapter 21: 05) vests authority to administer granting of prospecting rights, acquisition of mining claims and payments of levies in the Mining Affairs Board, a body appointed by the Minister of Mines, Environment and Tourism. The Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe Act of 1982 resulted in the formation of the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe which is the sole marketing and selling agent for all minerals exported out of Zimbabwe, except gold and silver, which fall under the control of the Reserve Bank. The bulk of mineral revenue accrues to the government ahead of Rural District Councils (RDCs) who have responsibilities towards road maintenance and provision of other services, and local communities who bear the brunt of environmental damage due to mining activities. A study into the structure of revenue sharing showed that RDCs obtained less than 0.1 % of the revenue (Owen and Maponga, 1996). This revenue is from two main sources. In terms of section 96(1 Ob) of the Rural District Councils Act, Chapter 29: 13, RDCs may charge levies to owners of mining locations situated on rural land in their areas. The levy is based on either the number of employees or output in tonnes in the case of precious metals. The levy is in the form of unit tax. Section 188 of the Mines and Minerals Act entitles RDCs to receive landowners' fees from mining activities in their areas. This is because, although RDCs are not the legal owners of the communal land under their jurisdiction (the land belongs to the state represented by the president in terms of section 4 of the Communal Land Act, Chapter 20: 04), sub-section (7) of section 188 specifically provides that they are regarded as the landowners for the purpose of receiving landowners' fees. The fees are pegged at $1.50 per hectare for an operational mine and$0.60 for a non-operational one. Mining royalties are not collected in Zimbabwe - they were last collected in 1975 as a measure to attract investment in the mining sector.“This publication has been possible through the support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Natural Resources Management Project (NRMP) Phase II - Zimbabwe

Emerging forms of social action in urban domestic water supply in South Africa and Zimbabwe

This paper compares and contrasts emerging forms of social action in urban domestic water supply in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Both countries represent transitional societies that are facing challenges of providing clean and safe domestic water to the black majority population, which for decades was denied basic social services because of a racist ideology. In the first instance the paper assesses whether there exists a constitutional provision that guarantees the right to water. It then turns to how that is enforced, and what happens in its absence. Lastly the paper examines whether the various interventions lead to improved access to safe water. In South Africa an awareness of the constitutional right to water backed by a supportive legislative framework, which engendered a strong sense of entitlement, caused residents to resort to the courts and direct action such as street protests. Similar initiatives were also observed in Zimbabwe. However, the absence of a conducive legal environment, and disenchantment with the state as a provider of social services, led residents to resort to self reliance in order to access water. In both countries social action was not organic –it tended to be championed if not sponsored either by civil society or party political actors. There was no evidence of improved access to safe water as a consequence of social action. The paper concludes that social action in the urban domestic water supply faces the common challenges of social mobilization in particular and social movements in general.Web of Scienc

Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters were defined as the catchment area of between one and four village health workers employed by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. Women were eligible for inclusion if they permanently lived in clusters and were confirmed pregnant. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to standard of care (52 clusters), IYCF (20 g of a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement per day from age 6 to 18 months plus complementary feeding counselling; 53 clusters), WASH (construction of a ventilated improved pit latrine, provision of two handwashing stations, liquid soap, chlorine, and play space plus hygiene counselling; 53 clusters), or IYCF plus WASH (53 clusters). A constrained randomisation technique was used to achieve balance across the groups for 14 variables related to geography, demography, water access, and community-level sanitation coverage. Masking of participants and fieldworkers was not possible. The primary outcomes were infant length-for-age Z score and haemoglobin concentrations at 18 months of age among children born to mothers who were HIV negative during pregnancy. These outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We estimated the effects of the interventions by comparing the two IYCF groups with the two non-IYCF groups and the two WASH groups with the two non-WASH groups, except for outcomes that had an important statistical interaction between the interventions. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01824940. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2012, and March 27, 2015, 5280 pregnant women were enrolled from 211 clusters. 3686 children born to HIV-negative mothers were assessed at age 18 months (884 in the standard of care group from 52 clusters, 893 in the IYCF group from 53 clusters, 918 in the WASH group from 53 clusters, and 991 in the IYCF plus WASH group from 51 clusters). In the IYCF intervention groups, the mean length-for-age Z score was 0·16 (95% CI 0·08-0·23) higher and the mean haemoglobin concentration was 2·03 g/L (1·28-2·79) higher than those in the non-IYCF intervention groups. The IYCF intervention reduced the number of stunted children from 620 (35%) of 1792 to 514 (27%) of 1879, and the number of children with anaemia from 245 (13·9%) of 1759 to 193 (10·5%) of 1845. The WASH intervention had no effect on either primary outcome. Neither intervention reduced the prevalence of diarrhoea at 12 or 18 months. No trial-related serious adverse events, and only three trial-related adverse events, were reported. INTERPRETATION: Household-level elementary WASH interventions implemented in rural areas in low-income countries are unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia and might not reduce diarrhoea. Implementation of these WASH interventions in combination with IYCF interventions is unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia more than implementation of IYCF alone. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, Wellcome Trust, Swiss Development Cooperation, UNICEF, and US National Institutes of Health.The SHINE trial is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP113707); UK Department for International Development; Wellcome Trust, UK (093768/Z/10/Z, 108065/Z/15/Z and 203905/Z/16/Z); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; US National Institutes of Health (2R01HD060338-06); and UNICEF (PCA-2017-0002)

Towards a theory and practice of access to civil justice for the poor in Zimbabwe, law and dispute resolution in a pluralistic society

grantor: University of TorontoThis thesis examines the problem of lack of access to justice for poor people in Zimbabwe. The focus is on civil justice. This thesis departs from the predominant approach in the North American (and other Western) scholarship on access to justice which tends to focus on legal services and dispute resolution mechanisms. An approach suitable to the Zimbabwean context, particularly by taking into account the existence of an officially pluralistic legal system, and the social context in which legal pluralism operates, is adopted. Justice for the poor in Zimbabwe is conceptualized as more than access to legal services and dispute resolution mechanisms. Although these are important, and issues of the quality of both are pertinent to the Zimbabwean context, issues about the adequacy of substantive laws are equally important. Therefore justice is conceptualized as both substantive and procedural justice. The interaction between substantive and procedural justice is also examined. The implications of pluralism for access to justice are specifically addressed in this thesis. The examination of pluralism includes an analysis of customary family laws from an historical perspective. Family laws and family relationships, including extended family and kinship ties, formed the basis of indigenous social organization. The area of family laws is most illustrative of the problems of pluralism in the legal system and general cultural pluralism. In particular, it illustrates the problem of divergent legal concepts. This divergence is more acute in the area of gender relations within family laws. The subordinate position of women in customary family laws presents one of the problematic features of customary laws. It also renders pluralism's acceptance of divergence of legal norms problematic. This thesis proposes some possible means of resolving these problems. Finally, this thesis also addresses the more conventional barriers to access to justice for poor people in Zimbabwe (including poverty itself) such as lack of access to information, linguistic problems, procedural barriers within the court system, social distance between judicial officers and poor people and geographical barriers to access to courts. Possible solutions to these problems are provided.S.J.D

Interventions for mood and anxiety disorders, and self harm in young offenders

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: The goal of this review is to identify which interventions should be recommended for the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders and self harm behaviours in young offenders. Specifically, the objectives are:1. To determine what specific interventions for mood and anxiety disorders, and self harm behaviours are effective for young offenders, and;2. To determine whether specific interventions are effective in different types of disorder in young offenders (e.g. depression, PTSD).</p

Systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions relevant for young offenders with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, or self-harm

Background: Mood and anxiety disorders, and problems with self harm are significant and serious issues that are common in young people in the Criminal Justice System. Aims: To examine whether interventions relevant to young offenders with mood or anxiety disorders, or problems with self harm are effective. Method: Systematic review and meta-analysis of data from randomised controlled trials relevant to young offenders experiencing these problems. Results: An exhaustive search of the worldwide literature (published and unpublished)yielded 10 studies suitable for inclusion in this review. Meta-analysis of data from three studies (with a total population of 171 individuals) revealed that group-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) may help to reduce symptoms of depression in young offenders. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that group-based CBT may be useful for young offenders with such mental health problems, but larger high quality RCTs are now needed to bolster the evidence-base

Water is Life: Women’s human rights in national and local water governance in Southern and Eastern Africa

This book approaches water and sanitation as an African gender and human rights issue. Empirical case studies from Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe show how coexisting international, national and local regulations of water and sanitation respond to the ways in which different groups of rural and urban women gain access to water for personal, domestic and livelihood purposes. The authors, who are lawyers, sociologists, political scientists and anthropologists, explore how women cope in contexts where they lack secure rights, and participation in water governance institutions, formal and informal. The research shows how women – as producers of family food - rely on water from multiple sources that are governed by community based norms and institutions which recognize the right to water for livelihood. How these 'common pool water resources' - due to protection gaps in both international and national law - are threatened by large-scale development and commercialization initiatives, facilitated through national permit systems, is a key concern. The studies demonstrate that existing water governance structures lack mechanisms which make them accountable to poor and vulnerable waters users on the ground, most importantly women. Our findings thus underscore the need to intensify measures to hold states accountable, not just in water services provision, but in assuring the basic human right to clean drinking water and sanitation; and also to protect water for livelihoods. Published by Weaver Press, Harare, Zimbabwe. Made available in DUO Research Archive with permission from the publisher and the authors