HWANGE East legislator Joseph Bonda has questioned the existence of community share ownership Trust (CST) in the district considering the deplorable condition of infrastructure in the mining town.
Bonda asked the Industry and Commerce minister Mangaliso Ndlovu in Parliament last week to clarify the status and beneficiaries of the existence of the CSTs.
Ndlovu said CSTs were established by the government in line with the indigenisation and economic empowerment legislation frameworks.
He said CSTs acquire equity on behalf of their respective communities in companies and use the proceeds to fund socio-economic development projects.
"The Hwange Community Trust was registered in 2012 and is among the 35 trusts that remain unfunded.
“In Matabeleland North Province we had two trusts, Umguza and Bubi that received funding,” Ndlovu said.'
Ndlovu said his mnistry is committed to revive dormant CSTs and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
"Hwange, unfortunately, is among the trusts that have not yet received funding and therefore not operational,” he said.
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Bonda said the statements by the minister were not convincing.
“What is the government doing to promptly empower the people of Hwange?” he asked.
“Hwange is one of the main mining areas that is producing coal, it is the main area that is producing lithium, it has got one of the biggest parks in the country and there is quite a lot of business that is happening there and yet the government is quite sure and knows that there is nothing that is being deposited into the account...”
Ndlovu said the ministry will engage Hwange communities for further clarity on the matter.
"However, for the comfort of the Hon. Member, we will be engaging all the communities where there is intensive mining because our permit rule is that communities ought to benefit beyond the royalties that these companies are paying to the local authorities,” he said.
“It is important to note that there is already an established royalty fee that they pay to the Rural District Council, the CSTs were coming as a way of initiative mainly socio-economic projects for the communities in those areas.”
The CSTs were established to ensure that communities benefit directly from the resources in their areas.
