The relationship between mining and local community development

Abstract

This dissertation investigates how mineral resource exploitation intersects with development in Zambia. The main objective is to understand mining contributions to local community development and how these vary according to gender. The study draws empirical insights from Munali nickel mine in the Mazabuka district of Southern Zambia. Findings suggest that the relationship between mineral resource exploitation and development in Zambia has been restructured mainly due to neoliberal political-economic policies of the 1990s. One key outcome is that mining-led development in rural communities was seriously undermined. The research finds that mining-led development benefits men more than women due to the gender relations in the mining sector. Mining is traditionally considered a macho activity, which puts men at an advantage. The dissertation carries the argument that the implementation of IMF and World Bank-sponsored neoliberal political-economic policies compromised mining-led development in Zambia. A focus on neoliberal policies and ensuing privatisation made the country lose the development contributions which mines were making, especially in local mining communities. The subsequent introduction of development agreements did little to improve the situation. In fact, they worsened policy directions, with the country oscillating between tight mining regimes to relaxed ones. One outcome has been uncertainty in mines’ role in the development process, leading to limited benefits to Zambia’s mining communities. Overall, countries such as Zambia, where there is high dependency on mineral resource exploitation for economic growth, prioritising optimal taxation benefits tends to undermine mineral resource-led development, particularly in mining communities.