Zimbabwes

Harare, Zimbabwe – Harare’s streets have been quieter than usual as residents wait to see whether a call for a nationwide shutdown against constitutional changes would lead to protests.

The first thing that stood out was the traffic.

Cars on the roads leading into the city centre on Friday were fewer than usual. The morning rush hour that normally fills the capital’s streets was missing, and the journey into Harare’s central business district was quicker than expected.

For a normal working day in Zimbabwe, the difference was noticeable.

Police were deployed across Harare as opposition groups and civil society activists called for a nationwide shutdown over constitutional changes. Critics said the amendments could extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time in office until 2030.

Across the city, the security presence was difficult to miss.

Police blocked access to a popular park where people often gather, making it clear that no one would be allowed inside. Nearby, water cannon trucks were parked in an open space that has been used for previous demonstrations.

An uneasy morning

By about 8:30am (06:30 GMT), parts of Harare’s central business district were slowly coming to life.

In areas where taxis operate and small businesses line the streets, some shops had opened while others remained closed.

The heavy police presence showed that authorities were prepared for possible demonstrations, which police have banned.

In Zimbabwe, public gatherings require police approval, and opposition groups have repeatedly criticised restrictions on protests.

As the day continued, Harare remained calm.

The dispute behind the shutdown

The shutdown call followed constitutional amendments approved by Zimbabwe’s Parliament and signed into law in July.

The changes move the next presidential election from 2028 to 2030 and extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five years to seven.

They also change how future presidents are chosen, replacing a direct presidential election by voters with a system in which the president would be elected by parliament.

Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 after longtime leader Robert Mugabe was removed from office.

He won elections in 2018 and 2023 and was previously expected to leave office at the end of his second term in 2028.

The amendments have drawn criticism from opposition groups and civil society organisations that argue they could allow Mnangagwa to remain in office beyond 2028.

The government has defended the changes, saying they are aimed at reducing political tensions and creating greater stability.

A fight over the liberation legacy

For Godfrey Gurira, who fought in Zimbabwe’s liberation war, the constitutional changes represent a betrayal of the ideals he fought for.

“When we went to war, we were fighting for the people,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We were fighting for one man, one vote. That’s what we want to see happening. We were not fighting for a dynasty or anything along those lines.”

The ruling ZANU-PF party has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party has rejected accusations that the amendments are designed to extend Mnangagwa’s time in office.

The government’s defence

Farai Marapira, the ZANU-PF’s information and publicity director, told Al Jazeera that the constitutional changes were intended to address political tensions linked to Zimbabwe’s electoral cycle.

“We have noted that there is a sequence which follows a five-year electoral cycle,” he said.

“Within the first two years, there is contestation of the previous election. In the third year, there is mobilisation for the next election.”

Marapira said the changes would reduce periods of heightened political tension before elections.

Opposition groups disagreed, saying the amendments weaken democratic accountability.

A quiet day, but the dispute continues

The shutdown call did not lead to widespread disruptions in Harare.

As the day continued, the city gradually returned to its normal rhythm.

More shops opened. Taxis returned to the streets. Traffic increased.

But the constitutional amendments that triggered the shutdown call remain contentious.

Opposition groups and activists are challenging the changes in the Constitutional Court while the government continues to defend them.

By the afternoon, Harare had largely returned to its normal weekday routine. But the dispute that brought police onto the streets and prompted the shutdown call is not over.

Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe wants to move beyond being a supplier of raw minerals and build industries that process and manufacture from its own resources. But as the government tightens restrictions on unprocessed mineral exports, smaller miners are asking whether they will share in that transformation or be left behind.

The government has restricted exports of unprocessed strategic minerals, including lithium, as part of a broader drive to increase domestic beneficiation. Authorities argue that Zimbabwe should capture more value from its mineral wealth instead of exporting raw materials and allowing other countries to profit from refining and manufacturing.

The policy has attracted more than $1bn in investment into Zimbabwe’s lithium value chain, according to government officials and industry representatives. But smaller miners warn that the cost of building processing facilities, unreliable electricity supplies and limited access to finance could make it difficult for them to participate in the country’s industrial ambitions.

Speaking during a technical media tour of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, on 17 July, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Polite Kambamura said Zimbabwe’s 2022 ban on exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore had encouraged companies to invest in domestic beneficiation.

“The construction of the first lithium sulphate plant in Africa is behind me, and this was done in Zimbabwe,” Kambamura said.

He said Zimbabwe’s ambitions extended beyond lithium sulphate and lithium carbonate production, with a long-term goal of developing industries capable of manufacturing lithium batteries and solar panels locally.

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, said its lithium carbonate plant was about 90 percent complete.

PLZ public relations officer Patience Mushore said Huayou’s investments had generated more than $1.1bn in foreign exchange for Zimbabwe while expanding the country’s lithium value chain.

Policy shift

Supporters of Zimbabwe’s export restrictions argue that the country can no longer remain a supplier of raw minerals while other nations capture greater profits through refining and manufacturing.

Public policy expert Tedious Ncube said Zimbabwe’s lithium sector demonstrated why the government had prioritised beneficiation.

He pointed to investments at Arcadia Mine and Bikita Minerals as examples of companies expanding Zimbabwe’s lithium sector.

Ncube said domestic processing could create skilled jobs, strengthen local suppliers and allow Zimbabwe to retain a greater share of the income generated from its mineral resources.

“The success of Zimbabwe’s lithium industry shows that the right policy can attract investment that builds industries, creates jobs and leaves a bigger share of mineral wealth in Zimbabwe,” he said.

Mining concerns

For smaller producers, the debate is not whether Zimbabwe should process its minerals locally, but whether they will have the infrastructure, finance, and market access needed to participate.

Shelton Lucas, business development director at Naivo Mining, said the company operates chrome, antimony and tungsten projects in Mashava, Ngezi and Kadoma but faces challenges accessing affordable processing options.

Lucas said smaller producers were struggling to access processing capacity, particularly in the chrome sector.

“For our raw chrome, we are now forced to sell to local Chinese smelters where they underpay us. For antimony, I have the resources to build the value-addition plant, but for chrome I cannot because the plant is very expensive,” he said.

He said he supported domestic processing but warned that smaller miners could be excluded if new requirements were introduced without support mechanisms.

Lucas proposed a toll-smelting system, where public institutions or industry bodies invest in shared processing facilities that miners can access at transparent rates while retaining ownership of their minerals.

“The challenge is not only building processing plants, but also ensuring smaller producers can access capacity on fair terms,” he said.

Without such measures, he warned that a small number of companies could end up controlling processing capacity and market access.

“If these companies also hold export rights, they could dictate prices to small-scale miners, creating what could become a predatory market that undermines the very people the mining sector is meant to empower,” he said.

Economic constraints

Economists say Zimbabwe’s processing ambitions will depend on whether the country can overcome longstanding challenges affecting mining and manufacturing.

United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean economist Chenayi Mutambasere told Al Jazeera that the policy faced obstacles including power shortages, expensive financing, weak transport infrastructure, foreign exchange constraints and limited access to processing technology.

“The ban should be more than a political slogan; it should be an industrial practical strategy,” she said.

Mutambasere said the government needed to support the policy with reliable electricity, investor incentives, skills development and clear implementation timelines.

She warned that restrictions introduced before the necessary support systems were in place could create unintended consequences.

“An abrupt ban where companies have invested in the sector may push the mining sector further underground, which could increase mineral leakage,” she said.

Government vision

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana told Al Jazeera that the policy was intended to ensure Zimbabwe gains more from its finite mineral resources.

“The government is implementing this beneficiation policy in our minerals for the growth of our economy and to create a lasting legacy that will be witnessed by future generations,” Mangwana said.

He said the policy applied not only to lithium but also to other strategic minerals, including platinum group metals such as palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.

Zimbabwe’s push reflects a wider debate among resource-rich countries: whether restricting raw exports can build domestic industries without concentrating opportunities among a few large companies.

For smaller miners, the success of the strategy will depend not only on how much mineral processing takes place inside the country, but whether beneficiation creates broader participation or leaves only the biggest players able to compete.

Lucas said the goal should be to ensure that local processing expands opportunities across the mining sector rather than creating new barriers for smaller producers.

“Beneficiation should not become a barrier to participation. It should be an enabler of inclusive growth, industrial development and sustainable economic transformation,” Lucas said.

Constitutional amendment will keep President Mnangagwa in office until 2030 and allow parliament to elect the president.

Zimbabwe’s Senate has overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that will keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in office until 2030.

According to Senate President Mabel Chinomona, the controversial amendments were passed on Wednesday after 75 senators voted in favour and four against extending the term for Mnangagwa, 83.

The raft of sweeping changes, which critics have called a “constitutional coup”, includes a provision that extends presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years.

The bill also includes a provision for the president to be elected by parliament rather than by direct popular vote.

With parliament’s backing, the bill now has to be signed by Mnangagwa to become law.

Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party holds a strong majority in parliament and has ruled since independence in 1980.

Last year, the ruling party resolved to change the constitution to prolong presidential terms, and the plan received cabinet backing in February.

The bill then passed through the National Assembly last week, with 216 lawmakers voting in favour of the draft legislation and 42 against it.

Mnangagwa came to power after a 2017 military coup ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who had been in power since independence in 1980.

Still, the country’s opposition, which has been weakened by years of repression, charges that the measures would entrench ZANU-PF’s control over the country.

Moreover, activists who have tried to mobilise in the country have reported intimidation and violence, including arrests or assault by suspected agents of the state.

Legal challenges have also failed to stop or invalidate the amendment process.

In March, Human Rights Watch said that Zimbabwe’s authorities were using violence and intimidation against those who were opposing the amendments.

“Over the last few months, the police and unidentified armed men have threatened, harassed, and beat up several people who are opposed to the proposed constitutional amendment,” it said in a statement.