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Mnangagwa office-linked mining permits nullified
2 hrs ago |
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GOVERNMENT has issued a stern warning against illegal riverbed mining, declaring that all permits or agreements allegedly issued under the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) are null and void as authorities intensify enforcement of a nationwide ban imposed in August 2024.
Addressing journalists in Harare today, Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution in the OPC, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, said riverbed mining had spiralled out of control, prompting Cabinet to take decisive action to protect the country's waterways.
"I would like to remind the general public that in August 2024, President Mnangagwa, through Cabinet, issued a directive banning all forms of riverbed mining," said Eng Muguti.
He said the ban was reinforced by Statutory Instrument 188 of 2024, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, which tightened controls on alluvial mining activities.
Eng Muguti expressed concern over reports of individuals and companies claiming to operate under agreements linked to the OPC, dismissing such claims as fraudulent.
"The Office of the President and Cabinet does not enter into any agreements. Any agreements written under the OPC are fake, null and void," he said.
He revealed that the OPC had received numerous complaints implicating district development coordinators, rural district councils and some provincial offices accused of issuing mining permits without the knowledge or approval of the Ministers of Environment, Climate and Wildlife and Mines and Mining Development.
"All those who own farms and are taking advantage of rivers flowing through their properties will not be spared from prosecution," Eng Muguti warned, stressing that the ban applies to private land, State land, national parks and communal areas across all 10 provinces.
Government has, however, authorised Prevail International on a pilot basis to test whether river rehabilitation can be carried out without destructive mining practices. The pilot project is being overseen by an Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka.
"No local authority should enter into so-called rehabilitation agreements under the guise of alluvial mining," Eng Muguti said, adding that all requests for river-related mining activities must be submitted to and approved by the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
He urged provincial arms of the security services to take decisive action against offenders and called on communities to report illegal riverbed mining to the police.
"We stand with the Cabinet directive. Anyone conducting riverbed mining anywhere in the country is breaking the law," Eng Muguti said.
Addressing journalists in Harare today, Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution in the OPC, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, said riverbed mining had spiralled out of control, prompting Cabinet to take decisive action to protect the country's waterways.
"I would like to remind the general public that in August 2024, President Mnangagwa, through Cabinet, issued a directive banning all forms of riverbed mining," said Eng Muguti.
He said the ban was reinforced by Statutory Instrument 188 of 2024, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, which tightened controls on alluvial mining activities.
Eng Muguti expressed concern over reports of individuals and companies claiming to operate under agreements linked to the OPC, dismissing such claims as fraudulent.
"The Office of the President and Cabinet does not enter into any agreements. Any agreements written under the OPC are fake, null and void," he said.
He revealed that the OPC had received numerous complaints implicating district development coordinators, rural district councils and some provincial offices accused of issuing mining permits without the knowledge or approval of the Ministers of Environment, Climate and Wildlife and Mines and Mining Development.
"All those who own farms and are taking advantage of rivers flowing through their properties will not be spared from prosecution," Eng Muguti warned, stressing that the ban applies to private land, State land, national parks and communal areas across all 10 provinces.
Government has, however, authorised Prevail International on a pilot basis to test whether river rehabilitation can be carried out without destructive mining practices. The pilot project is being overseen by an Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka.
"No local authority should enter into so-called rehabilitation agreements under the guise of alluvial mining," Eng Muguti said, adding that all requests for river-related mining activities must be submitted to and approved by the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
He urged provincial arms of the security services to take decisive action against offenders and called on communities to report illegal riverbed mining to the police.
"We stand with the Cabinet directive. Anyone conducting riverbed mining anywhere in the country is breaking the law," Eng Muguti said.
Source - the herald
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