A company granted permission to quarry close to a residential area in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is accused of damaging homes and reneging on an agreement to upgrade infrastructure as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Residents of Pumula North, less than 1km from the Chinese-owned Haulin Quarry, claim heavy blasting is causing their houses to crack and they fear they will collapse.
The residents also accuse the company of reneging on its pledge to fix roads and provide them with water.
Haulin Quarry began operating in 2021 after controversially being given a permit by the ministry of mines and mining development and Bulawayo city council.
Since then, residents have complained of loud explosions and thick plumes of dust from the quarry.
Zone Two residents' chairperson Zwelihle Mpofu said, since the company began operating “we have received reports of houses developing cracks because of the blasts”.
“Whenever the company is blasting some houses shake. We have an incident at Pumula High School where windowpanes and glass on a display cabinet were destroyed by the blasting.”
Skhululekile Moyo, ward councillor for the area, said she had taken reports of cracked homes and classrooms “to council so that the issue could be looked into” and had “written to the environmental management authority (EMA) and the ministry of mines and mining development over the issue”.
“Now we are waiting for their feedback because they said they will come and do their own assessment. Reports I have so far indicate more than 20 houses were affected.”
Moyo said when the mining company arrived they “promised residents a lot of things, to repair roads and provide water kiosks to the residents”.
“After assessing the state of the roads, council gave the miner a quotation of $360,000 (R6.4m) but nothing has been done.”
She added the only pledge the company had fulfilled was “the distribution of groceries to some vulnerable households in the ward”.
Approached for comment, the quarry manager, who identified himself as Charles Ndlovu, declined.
I cannot talk about that issue. Please go and write whatever you want
— Quarry manager Charles Ndlovu
“I cannot talk about that issue. Please go and write whatever you want,” he said.
But it’s not just the blasting that concerns the residents. Heavy trucks carrying rock are also allegedly damaging roads.
Zone three residents' chairperson Thulani Ncube said: “The main road which leads to Pumula North is now in a very bad state to the extent that commuter omnibuses are shunning it. When the Chinese miner came we had a meeting with him ... [when he] promised to fix the roads and drill boreholes in the area.
“Now whenever we try to engage him on his promises he complains he does not have money to attend to problems. How can he say he does not have money when we see his trucks shuttling up and down every day?” asked Ncube.
EMA environmental education and publicity manager Amkela Sidange said proper procedures were followed when the quarry was established.
“The environmental impact assessment [was issued] ... which included the critical stakeholder consultation component where all the relevant stakeholders, which included the residents, welcomed implementation of the proposed project, albeit the complaints coming up now,” Sidange said.
“The agency is monitoring compliance of the project.”
Sidange denied allegations the mining company was polluting the area.
About the dust, “inspections at the site revealed that for dust suppression the mine has begun lining the roads with a layer of quarry and they are watering down the roads at intervals throughout the day”.
“The mining operations are undertaken through [the] opencast method and the crushers have been placed below ground level [in pits] to minimise lateral dust movement and contain debris from blasting.”
Sidange would not be drawn on complaints about the quarry’s proximity to residential areas, saying her department did not deal with that. However, she said the agency encouraged residents to raise issues such as these during stakeholder consultations before mining projects are approved.
Mines and mining development minister Winston Chitando did not respond to questions.
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