Political Economy of Crisis, Mining and Accumulation in Zimbabwe
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Political Economy of Crisis, Mining and Accumulation in Zimbabwe: Evidence from the Chegutu Mhondoro Area By Showers Mawowa Submitted to the School of Built Environment and Development Studies In Partial Fulfilment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies 2013 University of KwaZulu Natal Durban Supervisor: Professor Bill Freund “… the real science of political economy, which has yet to be distinguished from the bastard science, as medicine from witchcraft, and astronomy from astrology, is that which teaches nations to desire and labour for the things that lead to life: and which teaches them to scorn and destroy the things that lead to destruction.” Ruskin, 1862 ABSTRACT This thesis has its foundations in a 2007 master’s research on the political economy of “illegal” gold panning in central Zimbabwe. A book chapter (Moore and Mawowa, 2010) and a journal article (Mawowa, 2013) have since resulted from that work. The former work argues that illegal gold panning demonstrates a distinctive pattern of accumulation characterising post-2000 Zimbabwe. Four aspects of this pattern are identified namely, i) the link between coercion, chaos and disorder and wealth accumulation and political power retention, ii) the role of the state in this imbroglio, in particular, its pervasiveness and centrality, iii) that this pattern was shaped by and has remodelled the acquisitive instincts of Zimbabwe’s ruling elite and iv) a culture of ‘strategic contradictions’ within ruling elites abets this pattern of accumulation. This thesis does not move substantially from this premise. Instead, it recasts these observations within a much broader scope. While the Masters work was restricted to a very small area, this work looks at a much bigger area and in fact much further away from the area of MA research. While retaining the focus on political economy of mining, this work goes beyond illegal gold panning to encompass what is generally defined as artisanal and small scale (gold) mining (ASM) in the Chegutu Mhondoro area. Since this is an area where successful platinum mining is also taking place, it was opportune and indeed relevant to extend the question of political economy to this sector. This is not to suggest that there is a direct link (formal or informal) between ASM and platinum mining other than proximity. However, evidence presented in this thesis is telling in terms of the commonality between the two with regards to the four aspects of Zimbabwe’s post-2000 regime of accumulation. i DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations, references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. I confirm that an external editor was not used. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. None of the present work has been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other University. _____________________________ Student signature ____________________ Date ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ i DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. vi FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................ viii TABLES ................................................................................................................................................. ix ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................... x PART ONE: SETTING THE STAGE ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Introduction: An Economic History of Liberating Ourselves? ................................... 2 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2 2. Zimbabwe’s Paradox: A Declining Mining Sector in the Midst of a Global Minerals Boom .... 4 3. The Study Area and Research Methodology ............................................................................. 7 4. Research Problem and Objectives ............................................................................................ 14 5. Overview of Study and Summary of Main Arguments ............................................................ 15 Chapter Two: Mining, Development and the Post - Colonial State ................................................ 19 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 19 2. Literature on Mining and Zimbabwe’s Development .............................................................. 20 3. Minerals and Afro-Optimism .................................................................................................... 22 4. Mining and Development ......................................................................................................... 25 5. Informality, Growth and Development .................................................................................... 30 6. Entangling the Political Economy of Crisis ............................................................................... 35 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 39 PART TWO: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ....................................................................................... 40 Chapter Three: Mining and Colonial Development ........................................................................ 42 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 42 2. Colonial Mining’s Early Years: From Speculation to Reconstruction ..................................... 43 3. Development of the Mining Industry ........................................................................................ 46 4. Cheap Labour and Uneven Development ................................................................................ 53 5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 58 Chapter Four: Mining and Accumulation in Post-Colonial Zimbabwe ........................................... 60 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 60 2. The State and Mining Capital After 1980 ................................................................................ 62 3. The State and Artisanal and Small Scale Miners in the 1990s ................................................. 66 4. Crisis in the Late 1990s and the Changing Political Economy ................................................. 69 5. Post-2000 Economic Decline and Crisis Accumulation ........................................................... 70 iii 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 78 PART THREE: PLATINUM MINING AND CRISIS POLITICAL ECONOMY ........................ 80 Chapter Five: “Growth against the odds”: The story of Zimplats in Zimbabwe ............................. 81 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 81 2. Platinum Mining in Zimbabwe: A Brief History ...................................................................... 81 3. Zimplats’ Growth and Performance Since 2000 ...................................................................... 85 4. Negotiating Zimbabwe’s Crisis: Accounting for Zimplats’ Success .......................................... 88 5. Zimplats and Zimbabwe’s Central Bank .................................................................................. 93 6. Platinum Mining in the Context of Zimbabwe Minerals Dependency .................................... 97 7. The Quest for Legal, Social and Political License .................................................................. 100 8. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 106 Chapter Six: Zimplats and the Indigenisation and Empowerment Policy ..................................... 107 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 107 2. Regional and International Precedents ................................................................................... 108 3. Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Policy ......................................... 112 4. Zimplats’ Pre-emptive, Resistance and Cooperation Strategies ............................................. 118 5. Zimplats’s Community Share Ownership Scheme ................................................................