News / National
Mugabe's war veterans threaten mines grab
26 Jun 2015 at 16:29hrs | Views
Ex-freedom fighters will soon launch a crack-down on "unproductive" mines across the country with a view to taking them over, War Veterans Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa has threatened
Analysts say this exercise is likely to target opponents of Zanu-PF including former VP Joice Mujuru who owns diamond mining claims in Mutare and members of her cabal who are heavily involved in the sector.
The country has wrapped up dealing "with political problems and now focus should be on pushing ZimAsset" Mutsvangwa told The Zimbabwean at the weekend, in an apparent reference to the Mujuru purges.
"There are people who own mineral claims with vast wealth of our natural resources, but the benefits are not going towards revival of our economy. We should get them out," he said. Mutswangwa also alleged that locals were colluding with Americans in "unholy alliances in the mining sector" who should also be fished out.
"We are going to review ownership structures of mining companies and claims across the country. We need to embark on a sweeping exercise to ensure everyone is compliant with the laws and also make sure only people who qualify in our ZimAsset aspect of boosting the economy are made owners of those mines," he said.
Mutsvangwa is a fierce critic of former VP Mujuru. His ascendency to the ministerial post of war veterans, which was created after the Zanu-PF December 2014 congress, is largely seen as a reward for his key role in toppling her.
Dozens of her allies have been booted out of government and critical positions in the party. Analysts say VP Emmerson Mnangagwa is determined to destroy her fortunes so that she is totally incapacitated to run for the presidency in the 2018 elections.
Analysts say this exercise is likely to target opponents of Zanu-PF including former VP Joice Mujuru who owns diamond mining claims in Mutare and members of her cabal who are heavily involved in the sector.
The country has wrapped up dealing "with political problems and now focus should be on pushing ZimAsset" Mutsvangwa told The Zimbabwean at the weekend, in an apparent reference to the Mujuru purges.
"There are people who own mineral claims with vast wealth of our natural resources, but the benefits are not going towards revival of our economy. We should get them out," he said. Mutswangwa also alleged that locals were colluding with Americans in "unholy alliances in the mining sector" who should also be fished out.
"We are going to review ownership structures of mining companies and claims across the country. We need to embark on a sweeping exercise to ensure everyone is compliant with the laws and also make sure only people who qualify in our ZimAsset aspect of boosting the economy are made owners of those mines," he said.
Mutsvangwa is a fierce critic of former VP Mujuru. His ascendency to the ministerial post of war veterans, which was created after the Zanu-PF December 2014 congress, is largely seen as a reward for his key role in toppling her.
Dozens of her allies have been booted out of government and critical positions in the party. Analysts say VP Emmerson Mnangagwa is determined to destroy her fortunes so that she is totally incapacitated to run for the presidency in the 2018 elections.
Source - zimbabwean
