BY SILAS NKALA
THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is investigating the alleged abuse of workers at the Chinese-owned Fools Investment Mine in Hope Fountain.
The probe follows complaints by civic society organisations (CSO) last week, which petitioned the NPRC to probe the abuses of employees by their Chinese employers.
Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) led 13 other civic organisations in petitioning the NPRC and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).
The human rights defenders demanded an immediate probe into abuses within the mining sector, especially at mines owned by the Chinese, where allegations of abuse of employees were rife.
This was after a Chinese miner, Zhong Yi Zhang of Fools Investments Mine, allegedly assaulted two employees, Costan Mhasa and Tatenda Mangena, after they demanded their salaries backdated to July last year.
Yi Zhang has since been arrested and the case is before the courts.
MIHR yesterday said the NPRC had since taken the issue up.
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NPRC commissioner Charles Masunungure confirmed that investigations were on-going.
“I can confirm that we received the petition. We have since deployed a team to get to the bottom of the issue. Our approach as a commission is that we must investigate and make recommendations on the issues we would have found,” Masunungure said.
He said the NPRC would focus on other abuses and also establish what was taking place at the country’s mines.
Meanwhile, MIHR said it was still receiving reports of more incidents of abuse of workers by Chinese miners.
In the petition, they stated that the Chinese miners’ behaviour was unacceptable.
The CSOs also said that the Hope Fountain incident was not isolated.
They said in June 2020, a Gweru mine worker was shot five times by a Chinese miner, Zhang Xuen, who also injured another worker.
“These are not the only incidents of Chinese mining companies being accused of torturing and abusing Zimbabwean workers. Incidents like these have also been reported in Insiza, Gwanda, Bubi, Hwange, Gweru, Matobo, Masvingo, Mutare and other districts,” the petition read in part.
“We have gathered that in many areas where Chinese mining companies are operating, these acts of wanton human rights abuses are rampant and the locals no longer report them because of the impunity they have experienced.”
The CSOs said their petition was backed by the fact that section 44 of the Constitution mandates that “the State and every person, including juristic persons, and every institution and agency of the government at every level must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms”.
