Benefit sharing: Zimbabwe case study

Tracing progress towards revenue transparency and revenue sharing in the Zimbabwe extractives sector 2013-2019

The advocacy campaign by Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Zimbabwe aiming to influence mining revenue transparency and benefit sharing in the extractives sector in Zimbabwe is the focus of this case study. PWYP Zimbabwe was created in 2011, coincidentally this same year the Government of Zimbabwe came up with regulations for establishing community share ownership trusts (CSOTs)—the primary tool for delivering benefits at the local level in mining communities—and the Zimbabwe Mining Revenue Transparency Initiative (ZMRTI). These momentous developments, without a doubt, heavily shaped the PWYP Zimbabwe advocacy campaign.

The push for transparency has predominantly been a two-pronged battle. Firstly, the campaign sought to use data already in the public domain to bolster public demand for improved transparency and accountability and, to this effect, the Data Extractors Project (DEP) initiated by PWYP International gave some traction to this advocacy endeavour. The campaign relied on data extracted from various
publications including reports of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), national budget statements, audited integrated annual reports generated by mining companies listed on stock exchanges, and monetary policy statements.Secondly, over the last decade, the campaign consistently exerted pressure on government to either resuscitate ZMRTI or join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

In addition, outside the overall push for transparency within the mining sector, the campaign focused on CSOTs, calling for enhancing community participation, the tightening of regulations to make the schemes mandatory, and transparency and accountability in CSOT management. An ever-changing policy environment meant the campaign recorded both progress and regression in its quest to push for transparency and enhanced community benefit from mining through CSOTs. To date, Zimbabwe has yet to join EITI or resuscitate ZMRTI. However, the sustained public discourse on EITI and a reignited interest in joining the organisation remain notable achievements of this resilient and increasingly nimble campaign.

• Case study
• Executive Summary