Maridadi raps govt for failure to account for $15bn and planning to built mining college

Tafara Mabvuku MP james Maridadi (MDC-T) has rapped the government over its plans to build a mining college at the time when it fails to account for the $15 billion raised from the diamonds sale in Chiadzwa.

Speaking in parliament, Maridadi said there were plans to set up a university that is going to train people in mining when the government is failing to do the basic things.

"We are failing to account for resources that are coming from the mining sector, $15 billion disappeared from the diamond sector. What do you want to set up the mining school for? What we need is to train our people in issues of governance and issues of honesty. What we are going to set up is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. We should have set up the mining training school before diamonds were discovered in Chiadzwa, may be we would have been able to save those diamonds that disappeared. I will set that aside," he said.
 
"The School of Mines train people that are ready to get into industry. If you go to most of our mines and ask those people where they were educated, they will tell you that after ‘A' levels they went to the School of Mines to study Geology, Mining Engineering, Metallurgy and most of the courses that are required by mines. So, this university here, we do not need it because firstly, we do not have the money and it is not a secret. We do not have the money in Zimbabwe to be able to set up this university that is number 1."

Maridadi said there is a need of  a lot of expertise and there is no such expertise.

"Let us concentrate on the universities that are already existing and not waste out time trying to bid for a university whose functions we do not need in this country. Let us look at the mining sector-the diamond mines in Chiadzwa were consolidated," he said.