Stephen T Chifamba
Harare (NewsoftheSouth) – A 38-year-old Hwange resident, Fidelis Chima, has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking the eviction of Chinese coal mining firm Zhongxin Mining Group (Zhongxin) from its claims in on the outskirts of Hwange National Park saying its operations are endangering wildlife in the area.
The company controversially won a special grand to extract coal from the giant wildlife sanctuary last year and went on a massive coal mining spree.
Its activities have been blamed for the death of at least 22 elephants in the area over the past two weeks.
Chima is jointly suing the company with the Environmental Lawyers Association of Zimbabwe (Zela).
The application was filed by Advocate Agyver Sawunyama, instructed by Mutuso Dhliwayo of Zela.
Zhongxin is listed as the first respondent while the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando and the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) are second, third and fourth respondents respectively.
The litigants want Zhongxin’s special grant to be revoked.
They also want the Zhongxin, ZMDC “and any persons acting through them prohibited from conducting any mining activities including exploration, prospecting and drilling in Sinamatella Camp of Deka Safari Area within Hwange National Park”.
The draft order sought by the applicants reads: “The Sheriff of Zimbabwe or his deputy is ordered to eject any of the 1st and 2nd respondents’ personnel, equipment and other articles from Hwange National Park within three days of this order and to ensure the continual full enforcement thereof.”
Chima, in his application, argued that coalmining activities could bring the already endangered species in the otherwise pristine wildlife reserve closer to extinction.
“I seek an interdict on an urgent basis on the grounds that coalmining activities, if not immediately prevented, shall damage the heritage national park and will cause turmoil to the lives of both the indigenes as well as plant and animal varieties native to Hwange National Park. The fact that the granting of mining rights was done outside the structures of the enabling legislation compounds the existing threat and creates compelling need for the injunctive relief which applicants jointly seek,” court documents file Sunday read.
Chima also argues that the permission to carry out mining activities in the national park was done without following proper procedure and was thus a legal nullity.
“The problem with the situation is not only that certification was achieved with lightning speed for certifications of a project assessment of that magnitude but more importantly, this was done quite unprocedurally as the 3rd respondent (Chitando) granted the 2nd respondent (ZMDC) a special grant on 22 February 2019 without Environmental Impact Assessment, which was only then applied for on 7 August 2020,” the application reads.
“The ecological degradation and pollution and the failure to promote conservation contravene the constitutionally protected environmental rights of the applicants provided for in section 73 of the constitution.”
Chima also argues that preliminary mining activities have led to animals fleeing the area in droves as evidenced by a huge buffalo emigration which was witnessed on September 3, 2020.
“I verily believe that the matter cannot wait as 1st and 2nd respondent have already set things in motion, have personnel on the ground and in all probability, by the end of the week, Hwange National Park will have ceased to be the pristine park and wildlife sanctuary that it has been for so long unless the court acts swiftly and decisively,” Chima contented.
The set down for the case is expected soon.
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