Chiefs cry foul over Zimplats ‘deceit’
MOSES MATENGA
Traditional leaders under the Zimplats Mhondoro Ngezi Chegutu, Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust are up in arms with Zimplats (Private) Limited accusing the company of failing to fulfil its obligations and duping communities who signed up to benefit from the 2011 scheme.
The chiefs accused the mining giants of reneging in allotting 10% shares to communities as agreed in the 2011 agreement signed between Zimplats and the government while also blaming the company for leaving communities behind in their corporate social responsibilities.
The complaint was raised by Chief Zvimba on behalf of other chiefs and communities through a letter to Zimplats CEO Alex Mhembere and forms part of court documents lodged with the High Court where Chegutu Rural District Council chairperson Tatenda Gwinji is suing the firm for failure to allot the 10% shareholding to communities.
Gwinji is seeking a court order that compels Zimplats (Private) Limited to give the community its shareholding arguing failure to comply with a legally binding agreement was ultra vires the constitution together with local, regional and international statutes.
Zimplats, Mhondoro-Ngezi, Chegutu, Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust are the first defendants while Zimplats Platinum Mines (Private) Limited is listed as the second defendant. The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises Development is the third defendant.
The platinum miners entered into a Deed of Trust at least 12 chiefs representing the communities that were expected to benefit from the share ownership scheme.
Documents seen by Business Times show that communities were set to get US$10m and Zimplats (Private) Limited was supposed “to allot to the Trust ordinary shares in the share capital of Zimplats constituting 10% of the issued share capital of Zimplats.”
Instead of allotting the shares to the community, the company has over the years been involved in corporate social responsibility activities which the communities feel are not enough.
“We have observed that Zimplats has gone ahead to pursue its own corporate social responsibility programmes without any direct participation and decision making by the Chiefs and our communities,” the traditional leader said in the letter.
“Recently we celebrated a wonderful cattle project Zimplats launched in the presence of His Excellency President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa, and yet we are not aware of and were never consulted on how our communities might benefit. Was the purpose of forming a trust not to ensure direct participation and decision making by our local communities.”
“We are also worried that Zimplats has now expressed interest to buy shares in Sable Park Estates, a company that the community invested in and bought 33% shares. Zimplats now wants to buy shares in a company that the community has helped to grow and yet does not want to give that same community its shares as long as it is committed to.”
He accused Zimplats of wanting to “withhold the success of our communities.”
Chief Ngezi said it was worrying that there is an intention to amend the deed of trust so that Zimplats will not dispose of the 10% of its shares to communities.
“Some of our Chiefs currently sitting on the board of the ZMNCZ community trust had the opportunity to visit South Africa and see how platinum wealth has transformed the Royal Bafokeng community into a wealthy community. This community has become rich from Implats mining platinum there, why should Zimbabwe’s own communities be deprived of the same wealth being mined by Implats subsidiary of Zimplats here in Zimbabwe.”
