'Decriminalise gold panning', Govt told

 THE Government should decriminalise gold panning as a matter of urgency to open up opportunities for local players in line with its indigenisation drive, stakeholders said Tuesday.

 Contributing to discussions during the on-going Government-Civic Society Special Conference on Zimbabwe's Future in Bulawayo, the participants said the continued criminalisation of gold panning, now known as artisanal mining, was colonial and hence opposed to the spirit of empowerment which the new Zanu-PF Government was spearheading.

"At least 500 000 people in Zimbabwe, mainly from the rural areas, earn a living through artisanal mining with women constituting about 30 percent of the figure," said Mr Farai Maguwu from the Centre for Natural Resource Governance.

"As such about two million people are affected by artisanal mining and given that number we wonder why their activities are deemed illegal? The current legislation on mining is an antithesis of indigenisation and empowerment."

The stakeholders said regularisation of artisanal mining would expand the mining sector and create opportunities for thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans.

Independent economist Dr Davidson Gomo said the country's mining policy should be transformed to favour development of local players and increased beneficiation in the sector.

Said Dr Gomo: "It is wrong for Government to leave minerals to be exploited by foreign companies at the expense of local players. Shipping out our minerals is not ideal for the economy. Our policies should address the issue of beneficiation."

He said the Government should think seriously about how the vast mineral deposits the country has should be exploited for the benefit of ordinary citizens.

Said another participant: "The Mines and Minerals Act we have was crafted in 1961, well before UDI. It is silent about artisanal mining where a majority of our people are. It is colonial and draconian and it is shocking why it has been maintained to date."

The stakeholders said delays in regularising artisanal mining were partly responsible for the continued smuggling of minerals as the informal players were wary of trading through the legal channels for fear of arrest.

As a result, they said, the Government was losing substantial amounts of revenue while foreign countries who are the market, made a killing from the scenario.

"As a matter of urgency let us decriminalise artisanal mining because it is affecting thousands of our people," bellowed another participant.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Supa Mandiwanzira, commended the participants for expressing their concerns saying the new Zanu-PF Government was keen to engage all stakeholders and work with them in developing strategies that would take the country forward.

He said the Government was doing its best to enhance production and open up opportunities in all sectors of the economy as it moves towards buttressing the indigenisation programme.

Makokoba MP Mr Gorden Moyo referred to what he called a new "scramble" for Africa in the extractive sector and said the country should support local players and be more careful when issuing mining licences to foreigners.

The participants demanded that the Government weeds out corruption in the mining sector and called for the crafting of an inclusive policy regulating extraction of all minerals.

Mr Doctor Ngwenya from Binga said local people in non-mining districts should also benefit directly from exploitation of natural resources in their areas and be allowed to set up their own similar businesses.

He complained that local people in Binga were not benefitting from the fishing industry on the Zambezi River and the wildlife species in the area. At the weekend, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Engineer Fred Moyo, said his ministry had started working on formalising artisanal mining with a pilot project already underway in the Midlands.

Moyo on Saturday held a meeting with small scale miners and the business community in Shurugwi during which he revealed that at least 3 000 gold panners in the Midlands had pledged to work with the Government in the formalisation of their operations.

President Mugabe has asked mines officials to review legislation on gold panners to decriminalise their activities, and the then Minister of Mines Dr Obert Mpofu had responded by drawing up plans to stop the crackdown on gold panners and release illegal miners already in jail.

The call for the formalisation of gold panners comes amid concerns that about two thirds of gold mined in the country was being smuggled to countries such as South Africa.

Moyo said formalised players would receive Government assistance in the form of mining machinery and basic training which covers health and safety, exploration of minerals and how to operate the machinery and servicing it.

He said formalising artisanal gold miners would result in increased gold production.