News / National
Zimbabwe to construct weighbridges at border posts
22 Aug 2011 at 05:22hrs | Views
THE Government plans to construct weighbridges at all border posts to curb smuggling of minerals out of the country. Zimbabwe is losing large sums in royalties because exports are not weighed.
Mutoko Rural District Council in Mashonaland Central has complained that it is losing royalties through smuggling.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire said installation of the weighbridges, to start at Nyamapanda Border Post, would increase revenue inflows.
"Work to construct a weighbridge at the 10-kilometre peg along the Nyamapanda highway from Mutoko Centre is scheduled to start at the end of this month and will be completed at the end of September," he said.
Other posts without weighbridges would then get them.
He said the problem was not only confined to granite but was also rampant with chrome exports in southeastern Chikwalakwala where miners were taking advantage of the absence of a weighbridge by misrepresenting the weight of exports.
"Some companies actually prefer Nyamapanda arguing that it is convenient when in actual fact they want to smuggle minerals out of the country," he said.
The deputy minister said the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe would build the weighbridges under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement with the RDCs.
Mutoko Rural District Council in Mashonaland Central has complained that it is losing royalties through smuggling.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire said installation of the weighbridges, to start at Nyamapanda Border Post, would increase revenue inflows.
"Work to construct a weighbridge at the 10-kilometre peg along the Nyamapanda highway from Mutoko Centre is scheduled to start at the end of this month and will be completed at the end of September," he said.
Other posts without weighbridges would then get them.
He said the problem was not only confined to granite but was also rampant with chrome exports in southeastern Chikwalakwala where miners were taking advantage of the absence of a weighbridge by misrepresenting the weight of exports.
"Some companies actually prefer Nyamapanda arguing that it is convenient when in actual fact they want to smuggle minerals out of the country," he said.
The deputy minister said the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe would build the weighbridges under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement with the RDCs.
Source - New Ziana.
