Parliament demands answers on mineral leakages, role of security sectors in mining operations

Parliamentary Portifolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development chairperson Edmond Mkaratigwa has demanded to know interaction between the country’s mining sector and the country’s security forces.

His call comes at a time there has been rampant corruption in the mining sector, with some criminals being allegedly helped by the members of security sector to smuggle the minerals outside Zimbabwe.

Chairing the Committee during Oral evidence from the Chamber of Mines on the current status of the mining sector, Mkaratigwa said there is a need for a parliamentary committee to visit the mines and see for themselves what is actually taking place.

“We will visit the mines and the ports of exits to understand the situation on the ground to understand the gold leakages,” he said.

Meanwhile, in response, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, Isaac Kwesu said they are doing everything they could to make sure that the country benefits from its mineral resources.

On the other hand, Kwesu said only the government has weapons enforceable at law, adding that as such, his organisation relies on state supplied data.

“The chamber relies on government information, only government have weapons that are enforced by the law.

“Once we get the facts right from the government we will present to the committee,” he said.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) said they are facing challenges with the retention policy saying it has impacted negatively to their production.

“The pandemic has also not spared ZMDC. We have instituted a lot of things and there’s improvement in certain mines,” he said.

The representative added that the other challenge which is affecting productivity is access to funding, saying small scale miners have no sufficient funds and they need access to funds for effective production.

-Zwnews