Kamativi, a forgotten community

Calvin Manika

KAMATIVI – Kamativi, is a small town in Matabeleland North which is now a pale shadow of it’s former self due to massive poverty coupled with underdevelopment and marginalisation. The lives of residents have never been the same since Kamativi Tin Mine shut down operations in 1994.

The once lively mining hub and settlement now only carries reminiscences of a once magnificent past, when the mine was still the envy of many as a hive of activity that used to contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

Ancient, dilapidated buildings that have long seen better days have become an eye sore and almost inhabitable define the town. To compound the plight of the community the residences are devoid of water, electricity and other essentials.

Community Podium learned that residents fetch water from a small dam that is 4km away. Some residents claimed that they are now accustomed to the daily struggles and therefore no longer harbour any  hope of rescue by the authorities.

Kamativi is disconnected from the world in every aspect of basic infrastructure, resulting in the town gaining the ignominious status of a ghost town.

Mr Ernest Dube, a former Kamativi Mine worker castigated what he sees as a  lack of appetite and commitment by authorities to fix the challenges facing Kamativi residents.

“Our challenges are basic and do not take a lot to solve. For starters, we need portable water, electricity and social infrastructure. Pertaining to roads, they can start with gravel roads,” says Dube.

During its peak, Kamativi Tin Mine employed over 3 000 people. The mine began operations in 1936 and shut down in 1994 when international tin prices fell to levels that rendered operations unviable. At the time of its closure, the mine employed 800 people.

 A community leader who prefers anonymity for fear of victimisation told this publication that the major challenges of the once vibrant town can be fixed with less than USD $500 000.

“Many assessments have been made and submitted to the authorities but up to now, people are still suffering. We want water and some essential shops to reduce travelling costs. We have to travel in order to access basics,” he said.

The pleas of residents once found  listening ears in Faustina Reidy and Rose Needham, two philanthropists from Europe who had visited Kamativi in 2015 and were  prompted to crowdfund for the town to the tune of £70 000. Some of the money was used to buy and set up a water pump and filtration system for the community, livestock and crops, while the balance catered for various other humanitarian needs.

There are not many shops in the town and the nearest supermarket and bank are about 100km away. The water pump in the town is out of order and residents have had no running water for months on end. The only sources of water are the nearby dam and some boreholes, meaning people have to carry water often for long distances to their homes several times a day in the blazing heat.

In an effort at mitigation, former mine workers through their organization, Kamativi Early Settlers Development Organisation, are pressing for the establishment of a small-scale mining syndicate to operate as a tributary once the defunct mine resumes operations. A nostalgic Amos Chada, who is a former Kamativi mine worker bemoaned the lack of concern by both the local and central government in the development of Kamativi.

“It used to be a thriving place. We always had good times. All these structures you see were built by the mine. When the mine closed we were laid off and since then, we have been witnessing the fall from glory of our once internationally renowned town. The place is totally forgotten. The buildings are just remains of a long gone era,” says Chada.

Another former employee, Farai Moyo cited the lack of social justice on the distribution of proceeds of natural resources as a contributory factor to the poor infrastructure and underdevelopment of Kamativi.

“Profits from this area, just like in the mining of coal in Hwange, used to go to Harare. But, since 1994, Harare has ignored Kamativi, I don’t think they still remember such a place called Kamativi.

We are in a worse state than we were 27 years ago,” said Moyo.

“The structures have been abandoned for a long time. The situation is hopeless as everything continues to dilapidate. Walls are peeling off and there are no new structures under construction for public service,” said Thompson Ncube, a resident.

Casper Nyoni fears that if the  underdevelopment and marginalisation persist, the youths and the able bodied will remain hopeless.

“Hwange district is naturally barren in terms of agriculture but blessed with mineral resources that, as host communities,we are supposed to benefit from. Our government is doing too little in support of its ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra. We remain jobless and poor,” says Nyoni.

Efforts to get answers from the Provincial Development Coordinator were fruitless as she did not respond to messages sent to her after several call attempts.