At Gurure Primary School in Mutoko, pupils fetch water from an unprotected source while granite mining companies operate in the ward around them. The school has no borehole, and a classroom block has been condemned. The contrast between mineral wealth and the basic needs of the children remains impossible to ignore, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
This is one of the difficult questions confronting Zimbabwe’s mining communities: how can areas that host valuable mineral extraction continue to struggle with basic infrastructure such as clean and reliable water?
A School Surrounded by Granite, Still Searching for Clean Water
Gurure Primary School sits in Ward 5 of Mutoko Rural District—an area at the heart of Zimbabwe’s black granite industry.
Mining activity is taking place in the ward, with ZIQ and RED Granite Quarry, operating as Ilford Service, among the companies operating in the area.
Yet the school’s water source is an unprotected well. There is no borehole providing a reliable and protected water supply, and pupils are forced to fetch water from the exposed source as part of their daily reality.
A photograph taken at the school captures the situation starkly: a pupil, still carrying her school bag, crouches at the edge of the water source to fetch water.
For community members, the situation raises an obvious question.
“This is a noble thing to do,” one community member pleaded, “to just drill a borehole at a school in a community where all your money is coming from.”
The call is not necessarily about placing responsibility for every development challenge on mining companies. Government and local authorities have a fundamental responsibility to provide public services. However, the presence of valuable mineral extraction in the ward should also raise questions about the role mining companies can play in supporting the communities that host their operations.
A borehole at Gurure Primary could make an immediate difference to the lives of pupils.
‘Where Is the Corporate Social Investment?’ — Catherine Nyamukapa Speaks Out
Catherine Nyamukapa, a Ward Coordinating Officer in Mutoko, has been vocal in questioning the absence of meaningful development interventions in communities hosting quarry mining operations.
Her concerns reflect wider frustrations among community members who believe mining activity should translate into visible development for host communities.
Community members have repeatedly raised concerns about promises made during consultations before mining operations begin, including commitments relating to water facilities, schools, clinics, and roads.
“The companies come here, they promise us water facilities, schools, clinics, roads—then they disappear,” community members have charged.
These concerns have strengthened calls for mining companies, government authorities, and local stakeholders to ensure that commitments made to communities are translated into meaningful development.
For communities such as Gurure, the issue is not simply about charity. It is about whether mineral wealth can create lasting benefits for the people living closest to the resource.
‘Mining Companies Must Go Beyond Charitable Contributions’ — Dr Selina Pasirayi
Dr Selina Pasirayi, Country Director of ActionAid Zimbabwe, says mining companies should move beyond charitable contributions and adopt inclusive Corporate Social Responsibility grounded in responsible investment, meaningful community engagement, and locally led development.
Speaking as part of the #PayTheHarm Media Documentation Exercise, she said companies should work with host communities, local authorities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in locally identified priorities.
“Mining companies should go beyond charitable contributions and adopt inclusive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grounded in responsible investment, meaningful community engagement, and locally led development. They should work with host communities, local authorities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in priority needs such as clean and safe water, quality education, healthcare, sanitation, and livelihood opportunities.”
Pasirayi said such investments should respond to priorities identified by communities and reach marginalised groups, including women and young people.
She added that companies should create transparent mechanisms that allow communities to participate in decisions surrounding mining revenues and development investments.
“This approach would ensure that mining contributes to sustainable local-level development and fair benefit-sharing, rather than communities bearing the social and environmental costs while receiving limited benefits.”
On the importance of documenting community experiences as part of the #PayTheHarm campaign, Pasirayi said journalists play an important role in bringing often-overlooked realities into public debate.
“Journalists play a vital role in documenting the lived experiences of mining-affected communities because they transform often-overlooked realities into credible stories that can inform public debate, influence the executive and lawmakers, and strengthen demands for accountability.”
The Condemned Classroom Block, A Decade of Neglect
The administration block at Gurure Secondary School, adjacent to the primary school, has remained incomplete since construction began in 2010 with support from some mining companies. More than a decade later, the building remains unfinished.
At Gurure Primary, a classroom block has also been condemned as unsafe.
Together, the infrastructure challenges at the two schools paint a troubling picture of a community still struggling with basic development needs despite the presence of valuable mineral extraction in the ward.
Community members say mining companies make commitments during Environmental Impact Assessment consultations, including promises relating to water facilities, schools, clinics, and roads. They are now calling for greater accountability and for commitments made to host communities to be meaningfully implemented.
The Pits, the Dust, and the Dying Rivers
Beyond the school’s walls, community members have raised concerns about the environmental and social impacts associated with mining activity. Among the concerns are abandoned quarry pits that fill with water and pose dangers to both people and livestock.
In Nyamakope village, community members say cattle and children have drowned in unfilled quarries.
Residents have also raised concerns about dust generated by mining traffic and the deterioration of roads used by heavy trucks.
“We cannot breathe properly anymore. When the trucks pass, you cannot see anything—just dust. Our children are coughing all the time,” said a mother from Ward 5.
Community members are calling for stronger rehabilitation of disturbed areas, dust suppression, and improved management of roads affected by heavy mining traffic.
‘They Say We Are Not Educated’
Despite living in a community hosting granite mining activity, some young people say they are struggling to secure employment opportunities within the sector.
“They are not taking our members. They are saying they are not educated,” said Willet Mafuwora, youth coordinator for Nyamugani in Ward 5.
These concerns highlight a broader debate about local employment and skills development in mining communities. For young people living alongside mining operations, the question is whether mining investment can create opportunities through employment, skills transfer, and enterprise development.
Communities argue that local people should not simply watch resources leave their area while remaining excluded from economic opportunities generated by mining.
What the Communities Demand
The community’s petition to the District Development Coordinator is clear:
- Drill boreholes at schools to provide pupils with clean and reliable water.
- Complete the Gurure school block that has remained unfinished for years.
- Rehabilitate abandoned pits and explore productive uses such as fish ponds and irrigation.
- Repair roads and address erosion and siltation affecting local water sources.
- Promote local employment, skills training, and fair wages.
- Address concerns raised by the community regarding the safety and welfare of young girls.
- Ensure commitments made during Environmental Impact Assessment processes are implemented.
- Introduce effective dust suppression measures, including water spraying and speed restrictions.
The Stark Contrast
The contrast is difficult to ignore.
Ward 5 hosts valuable granite mining activity, yet Gurure Primary School still lacks a borehole, and pupils depend on an unprotected water source. A classroom block has been condemned. Community members have raised concerns about abandoned pits, dust, roads, employment opportunities, and the implementation of commitments made to host communities.
The story of Gurure is therefore bigger than one company or one borehole. It raises a fundamental question about what responsible mining should mean for communities that host mineral extraction.
Dr Pasirayi believes Zimbabwe can ensure that mining benefits both the economy and host communities by moving beyond a narrow focus on mineral production and exports.
“Zimbabwe can ensure that mining benefits both the economy and host communities by moving beyond a focus on mineral production and exports towards inclusive and responsible resource governance. This requires stronger corporate and government accountability, meaningful community participation and consent, fair benefit-sharing, and mechanisms that ensure mining revenues contribute to local development.”
At Gurure Primary School, that national debate is reflected in a simple but powerful image: a pupil with a school bag crouching at an unprotected water source to fetch water.
Mining wealth may flow from the ward, but the image raises a question that cannot easily be ignored:
What should mining leave behind for the communities that host it?
