Clearance Operations The Centre has a section responsible for prioritising as well as ensuring all mined areas are cleared or released in accordance with the international and national standards (ZNMAS and IMAS) as well as ensuring training of personnel in different activities of the programme meet these standards. There are also daily monitors who observe the operators work and advise where their activities may jeopardise quality. They also assist them in linking with the local authorities.
There is need to inculcate confidence to the beneficiaries, the operator and the national authorities that clearance and quality requirements have been met and that released land is indeed safe to use. A quality management section ensures that key principles of quality management, such as evidence-based decision making, continual improvement and customer/beneficiary focus are adhered to. This section conducts Quality Assurance visits to operators’ worksites to check their procedures and if they are abiding with their SOPs as well as National Mine Action Standards. This helps create confidence in the operator’s ongoing work. The section also has a Quality Control Team which inspects completed areas to certify it for handover to beneficiaries. All these activities are meant to ensure that residual risk is reduced to minimum.
Mine Risk Education
While much priority is given to clearance, there is need to ensure new victims of landmines/ERWs in communities at risk are reduced to minimum. Pursuant to this, the Centre has an Explosive Ordinance Education (EORE) section which coordinates and standardise all EORE and Community Liaison (CL) activities. This section designs EORE materials, prioritise areas for EORE as well as conducting of EORE outreach sessions in partnership with the operators. There is need for ensuring inclusion of the beneficiaries in all mine action activities. All mine action activities need to cooperate Result Based Management (RBM). All these are guaranteed through Pre and Post-clearance Impact Assessments outreaches by this section in coordination with Operators’ EORE/CL departments.
Victim Assistance (VA)
As part of the APMBC obligations, Zimbabwe as a State Party has to provide appropriate assistance to landmine/ERW survivors. Zimbabwe has an estimated over 1000 mine/ERW casualties however a nation-wide survey (which is yet to be conducted) may bring out a more exact figure. ZIMAC works hand in hand with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare where VA has been mainstreamed into broader health and social protection initiatives. ZIMAC and the operators continuously identify mine/ERW victims in their areas of operation and assist where possible. The identified victims are also referred to the Social Welfare Department in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare for continuous assistance. NAMAAZ and ZIMAC involvement in VA will mainly be information sharing, awareness raising and advocacy.
Information Management (IM)
Effective IM with a clear reporting system and sound collaboration and coordination with relevant stakeholders are vital to an efficient mine action centre. As such, ZIMAC has an IM section responsible for the compiling, storing, analysing and disseminating timely and relevant information. The national data is stored in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). Tribute to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) for their continuous support in both training of personnel and managing of the database.
Training
Training of deminers is decentralised to operators though all training is subject to QA/QC by ZIMAC. ZIMAC conducts training of IMSMA User 3 course for both its personnel and operators personnel. In addition, ZIMAC runs QA/QC Courses, EOD Courses, MRE Courses as well as Team Leaders and Supervisors Course to staff its sections and the National Mine Clearance Unit (NMCU)
Handover
Cleared land is subjected to ZIMAC post clearance inspections. Once post clearance inspections are done, the land will be ready for handover to the intended beneficiaries. The QC/ post clearance inspections are done so that the Centre can confidently recommend the Ministry of Defence to hand over the once mined land to the beneficiaries/ local authorities. The handover ceremony is then planned in liaison with the operator who cleared the land. Such handovers create confidence to the local beneficiaries so that they put the land to good use without fear.