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PARCHED rural Buhera in Manicaland province, southeastern Zimbabwe, witnessed rare pomp and glitz in December 2022 when President Emmerson Mnangagwa came down with a high-powered delegation.
The entourage included the Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and the third most powerful figure in government, Oppah Muchinguri, who is Defence minister and the ruling Zanu PF national chairperson.
Also present was Mines minister Winston Chitando, a whole array of top government officials and a swarming team of security details, some of whom had camped in the area days before the event.
They had come for the ground breaking ceremony for the Max Mind Zimbabwe lithium mine, Sabi Star, which is Chinese-owned.
Thousands of villagers barely accustomed to the sight of hundreds of modern off-roaders and wailing sirens gathered for the event with excitement, hope and awe.
But also tucked away within the huge crowds were those that followed the event with anxiety, trepidation and silence, but seething with disapproval.
They were mostly the villagers who had been displaced by the lithium project from Ward 12 that incorporates the Tagarira and Mukwasi villages under Chief Nyashanu.
Sabi Star Mine is a US$130 million-dollar lithium mine owned by Chengxin Lithium Group of China, in partnership with Max Mind Investments Zimbabwe Private Limited.
It is located some 40 km east of Murambinda business centre in Buhera on the Odzi belt that is well known for minerals like gold, diamonds, gold, tin, copper and tantalum.
Source: Theindependent
