Women vital in spearheading responsible sourcing
As the world is moving rapidly to consider responsible sourcing as it seeks transparency and accountability in the extraction industry, it is more meaningful when women are involved as they have for generations been left at the margins of decision-making and development, Chairperson for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa said.
Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking at the Workshop on Assessing the Environment Social and Governance (ESG) in the mining sector in Zimbabwe hosted by the Zimbabwe Association of Women in Mining Associations (ZAWIMA) held at Monomotapa Hotel in Harare today, Hon Mkaratigwa said as gender vulnerability is rising, challenges for women are also increasing, therefore, it was of importance to include women in responsible sourcing guidelines and participation.
“Responsible sourcing is becoming a big issue for consideration in modern-day business. The world is becoming more responsible, transparent and accountable. It is even more meaningful when women are involved as they have traditionally been left at the margins of decision-making and development. The reason responsible sourcing is vital and particularly taking cognisant of the Environment, Social and Governance, this has also been a source of grievance in many developing countries. Such grievances cause natural resource conflicts, arouse latent tribal hatred, and cause the formation of terrorist groups.
“Advocacy that is going on globally is that sustainable development should be achieved. Gender vulnerabilities are rising instead of declining and energy poverty is a challenge impacting women and the girl child largely. Africa is further endowed with resources being required globally, but it has remained poor. Natural resource governance, therefore, remains fundamental as that is the main determinant of whether communities will benefit from resources extracted and sold globally. Diversification reduces the risk associated with most staples since there will be a fallback for nations. Those are some of the key issues that make your project more relevant in the country and the continent,” Hon Mkaratigwa said.
Speaking at the same event, Association of Women in Mining in Africa (AWIMA) Technical Lead Monica Gichuhi said women should take lead in making sure that regulations for ESG are speeded to allow responsible sourcing.
“Regulations to protect African minerals should be done now to protect communities,” she said.
ZAWIMA Chairperson Ms Kundai Chikonzo said women in mining in Zimbabwe were going to work flat out to ensure minerals in Zimbabwe are clean to be consumed by any market.
“We created ZAWIMA to ensure that women in mining in Zimbabwe are well represented and that responsible sourcing can be achieved through women’s participation,” she said.