By Brighton Chiseva
Residents in villages surrounding the Renco Mine compound, including Muvango and Mupondi villages are reportedly recording cases of crop theft which they allege to be a result of the mine’s failure to pay workers for several months.
Ward 25 Councilor Tarusenga Mapamba confirmed receiving several cases of theft, attributing the rise in incidents to poverty in the compound, which heavily relies on the mine for employment.
“I received several cases of theft in Muvango and Mupondi Villages, we have several isolated cases in other villages but these two are the mainly affected because of their proximity to the compound,” said Mapamba.
He said the whole community was affected and implored the company to address the challenge saying workers had gone for five months without salaries and the whole of last year, workers received their dues sporadically at times after two or three months.
One farmer from Mupondi Village recounted waking up to find half of his maize field and sweet potato crop had been harvested, highlighting the brazen nature of the thefts.
“I woke up to see that half of my dry maize field had been harvested and a substantial portion of sweet potatoes had been harvested as well. We suspect that the thieves come from the compound because a lot of people have no food in there,” said the farmer
Ward 35 Councillor Anna Stambuli told TellZim News that life was hard for the 1200 households who rely on the mine for survival and said it was not surprising that some were resorting to stealing food as the situation was dire.
“It’s not surprising that some are stealing from local villages, since November people haven’t received salaries so there is need for an immediate intervention before the situation escalates.
“We are facing many challenges as a community, people cannot afford to pay fees and feed families. There are water challenges and electricity forcing people to resort to other unsafe means,” said Stambuli.
Masvingo South MP Tanatsiwa Mukomberi weighed in on the crisis, describing the situation as dire. He confirmed the allegations that residents from the compound were stealing from neighboring communities.
“As the MP for Masvingo South Constituency I am actually worried about the situation revealing in Renco mine. Renco mine used to be one of the biggest mines in Zimbabwe and the welfare of workers at Renco mine used to be up to standards and up market but now there has been a trend of workers not receiving their salaries and wages in time.
“I heard people from the compound were now resorting to stealing food from the surrounding villages. The challenge is there is no any other viable economic activity in the area. People go to work and back, there is nothing else to provide employment,” said Mukomberi.
He said the situation was affecting not only workers but the entire area, including schools like Nyabata High, Renco Mine Primary, Mashapa, and Muchibwa. Learners relying on workers for fees are among those impacted. With no other economic activities in the area, Mukomberi said workers’ lives are limited to going to work and back, leaving them with no alternative means of support.
“So this affects even those into buying and selling because if the workers do not have salaries where else will they get money from? The situation is affecting schools like Renco Mine and Nyabata which draw learners from the compound,” said Mukomberi.
Mukomberi revealed that he had approached mine management, which promised to sell scrap metal and use the proceeds to buy food hampers for workers as a temporary measure.
“I once approached the mine management and they promised to sell some scrap and buy food hampers for the workers as they address the salary issue,” said Mukomberi.
The MP urged the government to intervene to restore sanity, emphasizing Renco Mine’s historical significance as one of the country’s most productive mine saying the situation demanded urgent attention to prevent further deterioration.
