Government has intensified efforts to revive Community Share Ownership trusts (CSOTs) with a view to ensure that communities benefit from proceeds accrued from mining activities in their respective areas.
This renewed thrust comes amid concerns that only six out of the 59 registered CSOTs remain operational at a mere 10 % survival rate, with the rest either dormant or defunct.
The revival of the CSOTs is part of the Second Republic’s broader rural industrialisation agenda, which aims to ensure the equitable distribution of mineral wealth while promoting inclusive and sustainable local development.
“We are saying people should be able to benefit from the economic activities in their localities. We cannot fold our hands when the law is clear on what needs to be done.
The consultations we are carrying out will culminate in a policy position to be approved by the cabinet. We want to see the industrialisation of communities being driven by CSOTs which remain vital in the development matrix,” Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu said.
According ZBC, in mineral-rich provinces like the Midlands, authorities believe the revival of CSOTs will play a catalytic role in boosting local economies and unlocking entrepreneurship potential.
“The revitalisation of the Community Share Ownership Trusts resonates with the Second Republic’s Heritage-based Modernisation and industrialisation agenda which is anchored on harnessing local resources and empowering Indigenous people to spearhead innovation that addresses local problems guided by His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’ s mantra: ‘Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatirwa nevene vayo,” Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Owen Ncube said.
Established to foster community development in areas where extractive industries operate, CSOTs were initially envisioned as a mechanism to fund local infrastructure, education, health, and income-generating projects through a percentage of profits from mining companies operating in those areas.
However, years of inactivity, poor oversight, and lack of clarity in implementation frameworks led to stagnation.
The Second Republic’s renewed commitment is now anchored in ensuring that no community is left behind, in line with the Vision 2030 objective of transforming Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy.
As part of the ongoing reforms, the government is also working on creating stronger accountability structures and legal mechanisms to ensure that mining firms comply with indigenization and beneficiation provisions relating to CSOTs.
With growing consensus on the need to devolve economic empowerment, the CSOTs are being positioned not only as conduits for development but as agents of community-driven industrialisation in the new economic dispensation.
