Chinese investor puts smiles on Kamativi residents
AN investor has come to the rescue of Kamativi residents who have gone for more than a decade without access to clean water after installing two solar powered boreholes.
The former tin producing town whose inhabitants have been reeling from lack of access to potable water following the closure of the mining company in 1994 due to a drop in global prices of the mineral had their situation worsen following the vandalism of copper cables.
This adversely affected the pumping of water to residents forcing them to walk long distances to a local dam which exposed them to diseases, risks of drowning and crocodile attacks.
Kamativi Mining Company (Private) Limited (KMC), has been supporting the community through various interventions since they begun prospecting for minerals at the old tin mine 3 years ago.
One such intervention which has been received with joy by the community of Kamativi which had slid into oblivion was the installation of two solar powered boreholes earlier this year which have been serving the two primary schools and community at large. In addition, the company donated 12 high-capacity solar batteries used by Kamativi Clinic to replace the ones that had worn out exposing the health facility to storage challenges for medicines.
The company was instrumental in the provision of water at the height of the pandemic by providing a water bowser to supply the precious liquid to communities which was complemented by a donation of masks, soaps, fuel and distribution of Covid-19 related information through printing of posters and flyers.
KMC’s spokesperson, Mr Turkey Liang told Chronicle that they had decided to begin their corporate social responsibility role way before commencing production after being moved by the plight of the residents who were lacking basic social amenities such as clean water.
“From the time we have been here doing exploration we have been carrying out our corporate social responsibility part by supporting the community through various interventions such as ensuring provision of clean water which was a huge challenge to residents. We also donated paints and cement to the primary school while we replaced solar batteries to the local clinic to help in powering it. All these initiatives have been undertaken before we have begun to get revenue from our investment. KMC will continue to do our role on the social responsibility side to develop our community and benefit our people,” said Mr Liang.
The community has also benefited through a donation of sporting kit consisting of footballs and uniforms.
He said in addition to the water provision intervention the company would also reconnect the community that has been living in the dark to the electricity grid while also rehabilitating the water supply system to ensure there is running water in the homes during the plant construction stage.
Mr Liang said the mining company which was at exploration stage with minerals such as tin, tantalite, beryllium and lithium likely to be mined at the end of 2023 would create job opportunities for around 500 locals.
Ward councillor Jacob Nyoni said he was impressed by the social responsibility role that KMC was playing in developing his community which had been reeling in poverty since the closure of the tin mine 28 years ago leading to economic and social amenities collapse.
“When this project came here, we never expected what they were doing. Now we realise they are not here to harvest our resources and leave us poorer as has been happening in other places. It was a sorry state. People were fetching water from unsafe sources such as dams which were shared by cattle and goats. Water provision was one of the important interventions done by this company.
“Since 1994 we had been drinking untreated water as it was pumped straight from the dam into the tanks and straight to the communities. Over the past 4 years after the electricity cable were stolen, we have literally had no water, a situation that could have really costs us lives during the peak of Covid 19 had it not been for this company,” he said.
The company has electrified the police station and some houses while developments are underway for the construction of a line to connect to the 33Kv transmission meant to eventually light up the ghost town.
Meanwhile Kamativi Residents Association (KARA) secretary, Mr Mathias Sibanda said the investment was worthwhile while praising the investor for employing a different approach of first taking care of the community before realising profits.
“We have been waiting for this kind of development for a very long time. Since the closure of Kamativi mine we have not had an investor but since the Chinese came who have been exploring over the past 3 years we have got hope that something is coming to our town.
“We are very happy about it, especially with what they have done so far. They have shown us that we are heading for what we had been expecting for a very long time. They haven’t started production but they have shown a lot of social responsibility by supporting our clinics, schools and community. They are within the framework of Government’s vision 2030 of developing the economy and bettering communities.”
The company which recently held a stakeholders meeting with sections that included Government departments, traditional and political leadership and residents among others to familiarise them with the project whose production is expected to begin at the end of 2023.