By Loyd Matare
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has waded into the raging dispute between Bryden Country School in Chegutu and Chinese-owned Shuntai Cement, blasting the company for “threatening one of Zimbabwe’s finest schools” by defying a High Court order to halt construction.
“As a former Minister of Education I find this situation simply outrageous. How can we allow one of our finest schools to be threatened in this manner by a Chinese company which will rape our resources, expend them all, shift their profits to China and then move back to China to enjoy their profits.
“All this while one of our finest educational institutions is destroyed. This must stop. We need firm Government action to end this thuggery,” Coltart charged.
The elite Bryden Country School accuses Shuntai Cement of endangering pupils’ health with toxic dust, noxious fumes and deafening noise from a lime and cement plant being built just 497 metres from its boundary.
The school also says the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) colluded in the crisis by issuing a dubious Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certificate.
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In a letter to parents dated August 16, 2025, seen by AfroGazette, Bryden revealed that the High Court had ordered Shuntai on March 25 to “suspend any activities” at its Eastbourne site.
Despite the ruling, the company pressed ahead with blasting and heavy machinery work, which parents say has already exposed pupils to dangerous dust clouds and fumes.
Frustrated, Bryden dragged Shuntai back to court for contempt of court. A High Court judge even visited the site on July 25, confirming in a ruling that the company had ignored the initial stop order.
The school has also hauled EMA before the courts, accusing the regulator of rubber-stamping Shuntai’s ESIA despite the project being sited in an education zone that hosts multiple institutions, including Springs of Grace, Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School and a university.
Bryden’s chairperson of governors, A. Noor, said EMA only released the ESIA after a court order — but it was the same flawed report initially rejected.
“Shuntai managed to wangle an ESIA certificate from EMA, suggesting they had addressed stakeholder concerns, of which they had not,” Noor wrote.
Construction has nonetheless continued, with parents reporting worsening pollution at the school.
“In the meantime, massive building has continued on site, and the school has been experiencing increased dust influx as well as fumes from burning of noxious material, as well as noise of heavy machinery and some blasting mainly experienced on the pool side of the school.
“Thus, the school was compelled to go back to court to reinforce the first stop order,” Noor added.
The dispute now awaits a decisive hearing before the Administrative Court and the Minister of Environment, but with the factory rising daily, Bryden says children remain at serious risk.
Noor has urged parents to remain united:
“Forty-three years ago, parents came together to build this school, and today we are appealing for parents to stand united to defend it.”
