Mary Mundeya
A push for a domestic climate conference is gathering momentum following a She Corresponds Africa investigation that exposed major failures in the collection and use of environmental levies, including Zimbabwe’s tobacco afforestation levy.
The investigation, published earlier this year with support from Information for Development Trust (IDT), found that the levy has raised an estimated US$45.8 million since 2015.
However, documented woodlot establishment linked to the fund stands at only 4,500 hectares — a tiny fraction of the 262,000 hectares of forest Zimbabwe loses annually.
The investigation also revealed that the levy was never anchored in an Act of Parliament, leaving it in a legal vacuum that constitutional experts said violated Section 298 of the Constitution.
For nearly five years after collections began, the funds remained frozen because there were no legal guidelines governing their use.
When disbursements eventually started, the ring-fencing mechanism collapsed, and by 2022 the proceeds were redirected into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Now, the parliamentary portfolio committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife is calling for a whole-of-government response.
Committee chairperson Samson Matema told She Corresponds Africa that key stakeholders were making decisions around the tobacco levy in isolation from one another.
Matema said the fragmentation stems from competing interests around the same fund. Treasury allocates the money according to shifting national priorities, farmers want tangible reforestation outcomes, while activists are demanding accountability and broader environmental protection.
According to Matema, the absence of a shared vision has undermined the levy’s effectiveness.
“As a committee, we are pushing for a conference of all parties involving different ministries, with the view that all ministries must recognise that we are interconnected through the natural environment,” Matema said.
“The cross-cutting and overlapping nature of environmental issues demands that all decisions and processes across ministries become environmentally sensitive. Our message is that environmental stewardship is a collective responsibility, leaving no one and no place behind.”
He said the tobacco levy itself demonstrates the dangers of fragmented governance.
“We are scattered and fragmented. For example, the tobacco levy is being collected from farmers with a clear provision to fund woodlots for tobacco curing,” he said.
“This was meant to help stop the serious deforestation linked to tobacco curing.”
Matema argued that meaningful coordination can only happen when ministries work collectively.
“This kind of coordination is only possible when ministries sit together and compare notes regarding strategic direction and policy priorities. That is why the Committee is calling for a domesticated COP,” he said.
He framed the proposed conference as part of Zimbabwe’s broader development commitments under Vision 2030, Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.
George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association, said farmers initially supported the levy because they acknowledged the environmental damage caused by tobacco curing.
“The intended purpose of the levy when we agreed to introduce it was for us as tobacco farmers to take responsibility for deforestation and do something about it,” Seremwe said.
“We expected to see plantations on the ground and to demonstrate to international buyers that we were taking practical steps to address the environmental impact of tobacco production.”
Seremwe said he supports bringing all stakeholders together to find solutions.
“I support a stakeholder approach where everyone comes into one room to discuss the way forward and how best we can address our carbon footprint as farmers,” he said.
“We need a common vision and common ground among ministries, government officials and all stakeholders.”
While acknowledging that some funds are being spent, Seremwe said the core problem remains unresolved.
“Money is being allocated to different programmes, but people still blame tobacco growers for deforestation and feel nothing meaningful is being done,” he said.
“The blame still comes back to us as farmers. We want to see visible results from this levy.”
Environmental and water activist Reuben Akili said the diversion of levy funds away from afforestation programmes is deeply concerning.
“From an environmental perspective, we are worried that resources earmarked for afforestation through the tobacco levy are no longer being directed there,” Akili said.
“This is also reflected in the lack of progress in afforestation projects and environmental research linked to tobacco curing.”
Akili cited constitutional provisions on financial management and public accountability.
“Section 298 of the Constitution outlines principles of public financial management, including fair taxation,” he said.
“When taxes are no longer used for their intended purpose, it becomes a serious issue.”
He also pointed to Parliament’s oversight role under Section 299 of the Constitution and welcomed the committee’s proposal for a national conference.
Akili said the Minister of Finance must explain why the funds were redirected.
“The Minister of Finance must justify why these resources were shifted away from their intended purpose of afforestation and environmental protection,” he said.
He called for the levy account to be ring-fenced to prevent further diversion of funds.
“It is very worrying that there is no ring-fencing of this account. Without ring-fencing, the funds can easily be used for unrelated purposes,” Akili said.
He warned that without reforms, taxpayers and affected communities would continue bearing the environmental burden without seeing benefits.
“Communities affected by deforestation are not seeing the results of this tax,” he said.
“Either the government must stop this regressive tax, or it must ensure the funds are properly ring-fenced and used for their intended purpose.”
