PLZ Public Relations Manager Patience Chizodza
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
In this Christmas season, known for giving—especially to those in need—corporates have been called upon to remember and develop the communities where they operate.
They should constantly strive to make a positive impact on the lives of community members as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
The call was made by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) Public Relations Manager, Patience Chizodza, during a recent engagement where she also revealed some of her organisation’s 2025 CSR programmes for Goromonzi, where they operate.
PLZ is a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Limited, one of the world’s largest producers of energy lithium-ion battery materials and new cobalt materials.
“As we celebrate Christmas, let us not forget the many challenges that our communities face.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, PLZ is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around us. Our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives focus on education, healthcare, and socio-economic empowerment, and we are proud of the progress we have made in these areas,” said Chizodza.
Chizodza further revealed that in 2025, they will continue with more CSR programmes in health, education, infrastructure development, and skills development.
“Next week (this week), not wanting to pre-empt much, we are going to launch our projects for 2025—the ones that we are going to be doing in the community, in Goromonzi.
“We built classroom blocks for one of the schools, we built teachers’ quarters, and we are developing this school as part of our CSR programmes.
“We have upgraded the school, and this is where we will be launching our projects for 2025,” said Chizodza.
She added: “When we do our projects in the community, we conduct community needs assessments to identify what the community requires.
“Sometimes we don’t necessarily do this as PLZ alone; we also form partnerships. For instance, we worked with the University of Zimbabwe.
“We had research conducted, and they identified the projects we are now launching in 2025. These projects will cover health, education, skills development—which falls under community development—and children’s development.
“In 2024, our major project is the tarring of the road from Majuru right through to the mine. The first phase kicked off on the 7th of October 2024. We are completing the first 8km by year-end and will finish the remaining 7km in 2025.
“This is one of the major projects we are undertaking in Goromonzi for infrastructure development.”
