Chinese Bank Ditches Zimbabwe Coal Project After Public Pressure
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with a global portfolio that includes fossil fuel extraction, has agreed to stop financing the controversial Sengwa coal project in Gokwe after bowing to civic pressure. In 2020, Zimbabwe indicated its commitment to upscale investment in coal with President Emerson Mnangagwa saying this support for the coal sector "is in line with the vision of attaining a U.S.$12 billion mining economy by 2023 as well as the achievement of a middle income economy by 2030."
However, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance has been urging the government to focus on renewable energy and halt coal-related investments, as reliance on fossil fuels creates negative social and environmental impacts in the long run. In a damning report 'Coal Investments in Zimbabwe: A Misplaced Priority' CNRG said decisions to finance coal investments are not only undemocratic and unilateral, but also prejudice's the country's commitment to international conventions towards reducing carbon emissions.
InFocus
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Efforts by the government to break a stand-off between Dinde villagers in Hwange and a Chinese investor hit a brick wall with the villagers insisting the coal mining project should not go ahead.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo was forced to face angry villagers alone after Mines minister Winstone Chitando was a no-show at the meeting with the Chinese mining firm, Beifer Investment. The impasse has been raging since 2019, after villagers blocked
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Zimbabwe's government has banned all mining in national parks, one day after environmental rights lawyers went to court to ban a Chinese firm from exploring for coal in the country's biggest game reserve. Authorities in Zimbabwe had previously granted Chinese-owned Tongmao Coal Company a licence to explore for coal in Hwange National Park, home to around 45,000 elephants and thousands of other species, including the black rhinoceros.
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The country's oldest coal mining firm, Hwange Colliery Company Limited, is reportedly considering selling the town for U.S.$300 million as part of efforts to pay for its increasing debt and the salaries of employees dating back five years.
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(File photo).
