Synchronising the Spatial Planning Legislative and Administrative Frameworks of Mining and Other Human Settlements in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This chapter examines the importance of synchronising the policy frameworks guiding human settlement development in Zimbabwe. Mining settlements have emerged as enclaves administered by the mining owner and the Mining Commissioner (MC) outside the jurisdiction of urban or rural local authorities. Consequently, mining enclaves with lower planning standards have developed compromising principles of sustainable and smart settlements. However, upon their decommissioning, the settlements are handed over to local authorities that complain of assuming responsibility of settlements with lower planning standards. The chapter uses the Mazowe Gold Mine (MGM) in the Mashonaland Central Province as a case study. The research is informed by the social interpretivist paradigm, the qualitative research approach and the case study research design. Data collection was based on documentary review, key informant interviews and observations. The data were analysed through content review and thematic analysis. The study revealed that the fragmented policy framework for human settlement development in Zimbabwe has largely contributed to unsustainable mining enclaves that contravene national planning standards. Therefore, the study recommends the formulation of a holistic policy for promoting sustainable and smart settlements in Zimbabwe.