Through the Eyes of a Laid-Off Worker at Trojan Nickel Mine, Zimbabwe

On 7 May 2025, Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) took part in a high-level G20 Roundtable on “Centring Women’s Leadership in Climate Justice and Just Energy Transitions,” hosted by the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) and the Centre for the Study of Race, Gender and Class at the University of Johannesburg.

The event brought together feminist scholars, government planners, climate activists, engineers, and grassroots organisers to reimagine energy transitions through inclusive, gender-responsive governance.

SARW’s Contribution: Feminist Governance from Below

Representing SARW, Monica Mbugua, Research and Policy Officer, delivered a grounded presentation titled “A Just Transition Begins with Women.” Drawing on SARW’s work in Carolina and Sekhukhune, she highlighted the realities faced by mining-affected, socially neglected communities—places where climate injustice is both experienced and resisted.

“A just energy transition is not just about carbon—it’s about community. Women are already shaping these spaces. Justice means recognising them as decision-makers, not tokens.”
— Monica Mbugua, SARW

Monica’s key calls included:

• Genuine inclusion of grassroots women in energy governance structures;
• Funding for community organising, not elite-led climate projects;
• Allowing communities to define their own transition pathways through microgrids, land access, and public procurement.

Panel Reflections: Shifting Power and Resourcing Justice

Panel 1: Women, Climate Justice & Mineral Economies
Chaired by Dr Siphumelele Duma (UJ – IPATC), this panel featured:

• Phelisa Nkomo advocating for structural reform in financial systems to repair extractivist harm;
• Mamosa Modise challenging ESG tokenism and calling for women’s direct ownership in mineral value chains;
• Ndzalama Cleopatra Mathebula critiquing the marginalisation of grassroots feminist knowledge in formal energy strategies;
• Engineer Lightness Salema calling for cross-border women’s energy cooperatives and accessible finance.

Panel 2: Energy Justice & Resilient Finance
Chaired by Dr Dikeledi Mokoena (UJ – Development Studies), speakers included:

• Dr Suzall Timm emphasising that resilience means shifting power, and advocating for climate finance rooted in survivalist economies and mutual aid;
• Pravin Maharaj urging township-level equity and reforms that position women as shareholders, not subcontractors;
• Dr Brian Mantlana calling for disaggregated just transition metrics shaped by community input;
• Ms Lebogang Mulaisi highlighting the importance of feminist budgeting and dignity-based metrics.

Keynote Insight: Ecological Intelligence and Mutual Aid

Prof Michael Rudolph (UJ – Centre for Ecological Intelligence) framed care as infrastructure and mutual aid as climate strategy, drawing from community-led resilience initiatives such as Siyakhana Igadi Solwazi, which employs aquaponics, sandponics, and vermiculture.

Strategic Outcomes and Calls to Action

1. Justice is Structural: Move beyond tokenism towards co-governance models that empower mining-affected, socially neglected communities.
2. Finance Must Flow Differently: Prioritise funding for local organising and informal actors using community-led tools such as Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Social and Labour Plans (SLPs).
3. Data Must Reflect Lived Realities: Use disaggregated indicators capturing power, dignity, and access—not only emissions.
4. Leadership Is Already Happening: Women in Sekhukhune and Carolina are leading; they need enabling systems, not saviours.
5. G20 Must Act: Ensure energy transitions are redistributive, feminist, and rooted in local sovereignty.

SARW’s Ongoing Commitment

Through AMAP, participatory research, and feminist procurement frameworks, SARW continues to:

• Amplify the lived authority of women in mining-affected communities;
• Support community-led governance structures;
• Advocate for justice-centred policies across land, energy, and economic inclusion.