Search / Gold panning
Zimbabwe teachers join night-time gold rush
In a startling development highlighting Zimbabwe’s worsening economic crisis, teachers from Fusira, Musvovi, and Madzivanyika schools in Masvingo South have reportedly joined illegal gold panning ac...Published: 16 Jul 2025 at 13:11hrs | 640 | by Staff reporter
BCC collects US$2,000 in environment fines
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has collected more than US$2,600 from environmental fines while still being owed over US$3,300, according to a new report from the council's Parks Section detailing int...Published: 18 Jun 2025 at 07:33hrs | 404 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo gold panners turn Cecil Pit into crime zone
The Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM) has issued a serious security alert to its students and staff, warning them to exercise extreme caution following a surge in illegal gold panning activities near the...Published: 14 May 2025 at 12:31hrs | 638 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo Council nets over US$2,000 in fines
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has collected more than US$2,000 in environmental offence fines for April alone, as it intensifies efforts to combat the surge in illegal gold panning, sand poaching, a...Published: 10 May 2025 at 13:09hrs | 243 | by Staff reporter
Cholera outbreak confirmed in Gwanda: 1 dead, 3 cases recorded
Health authorities have confirmed a cholera outbreak in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South, where one person has died and three cases have been recorded to date. Efforts are underway to contain the o...Published: 22 Apr 2025 at 07:35hrs | 135 | by Staff reporter
NUST enlists police to combat illegal gold mining on campus
The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has called in the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to help tackle a growing crisis of illegal gold panning that has infiltrated its main campus i...Published: 16 Apr 2025 at 22:56hrs | 198 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo cracks down against gold panners
In a bid to curb the increasing menace of illegal gold panning and sand poaching in Matabeleland South province, the Bulawayo City Council is planning to establish a permanent base for its rangers and...Published: 14 Apr 2025 at 09:13hrs | 175 | by Staff reporter
Zimbabwe records 124 cholera cases amid latest outbreak
ZIMBABWE has recorded 124 confirmed cases of cholera since the latest outbreak started in November last year, Minister of Health and Child Care Douglas Mombeshora said on Friday.Addressing a p...Published: 16 Mar 2025 at 19:25hrs | 520 | by Staff reporter
Zimbabwe military personnel urged to uphold Constitution
In a powerful address last Friday at the Five Infantry Brigade in Battlefields, near Kwekwe, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe urged military personnel to upho...Published: 11 Mar 2025 at 07:15hrs | 1770 | by Staff reporter
Top cop accused of extorting business community
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has initiated an investigation into Superintendent Elizabeth Chipfakacha following serious allegations of extortion and illicit activities raised by the Masvingo bus...Published: 09 Mar 2025 at 13:29hrs | 306 | by Staff reporter
Alarm over major city dam's low water inflows
Bulawayo's water supply faces a growing crisis as one of its main water sources, Inyankuni Dam, has received only 6% of its designed inflows, a situation worsened by rampant illegal gold mining in the...Published: 09 Mar 2025 at 13:20hrs | 202 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo dams remain critically low since Independence
Despite this year's above-normal rainfall season, Bulawayo could still face extended periods without water, with the local authority warning of a potential crisis that could rival some of the worst in...Published: 09 Mar 2025 at 13:17hrs | 104 | by Staff reporter
Filabusi residents alarmed by surge in crimes linked to foreigners
Residents of Filabusi are expressing mounting concern over the alarming rise in criminal activities linked to illegal gold mining in the area, with reports of rape, murder, land degradation, and other...Published: 25 Feb 2025 at 16:48hrs | 1094 | by Staff reporter
'Gold panners obstructing water inflows to Mzingwane Dam'
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has raised concerns over illegal gold mining activities, which he says are hindering rainwater from flowing into Mzingwane Dam and preventing the water body from aiding in...Published: 14 Jan 2025 at 14:10hrs | 162 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo Mayor appeals to God amid worsening water crisis
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has made an impassioned plea to God for rain as the city grapples with an escalating water crisis that he says is beyond the control of the Bulawayo City Council (BCC). In...Published: 20 Dec 2024 at 10:13hrs | 782 | by Mandla Ndlovu
Zimbabwean shot at Botswana illegal gold mining site
A 22-year-old Zimbabwean man, Mbongeni Mkandla, is in Botswana police custody after allegedly being shot by Botswana soldiers during his arrest for illegal gold panning activities in the Matsiloje are...Published: 30 Nov 2024 at 13:00hrs | 268 | by Staff reporter
Zimbabwean gold panners jailed in Botswana
A Zimbabwean woman, Lucadia Ndlovu (38), has been handed a three-month suspended jail term and fined 100 pula for illegal gold panning in Botswana. Ndlovu was arrested on October 16, 2024, along with ...Published: 15 Nov 2024 at 08:35hrs | 303 | by Staff reporter
Guard shoots at marauding illegal gold panners, 1 dead
Tragedy struck at a gold mine in Guruve on Thursday when 33-year-old Titus Masango was shot dead amid a violent confrontation involving a gang of illegal gold panners. The incident, confirmed by the Z...Published: 27 Oct 2024 at 12:31hrs | 433 | by Staff reporter
Bopoma dam Project moves upstream to protect sacred ponds
The construction of Glassblock Bopoma Dam in Matabeleland South must be preceded by traditional rituals to appease the ancestors, according to local traditional leaders. Initially, the dam's planned l...Published: 21 Oct 2024 at 07:45hrs | 897 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo water crisis deepens
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC), which decommissioned Umzingwane Dam last November, is now facing an even graver water crisis as the city prepares to decommission another supply dam, Upper Ncema, toda...Published: 03 Oct 2024 at 08:47hrs | 178 | by Staff reporter
Parliament face to face with Bulawayo water woes
Bulawayo's escalating water shortages took center stage yesterday as parliamentarians engaged directly with the dire situation affecting the city. With the water supply dam levels in continuous declin...Published: 25 Sep 2024 at 11:34hrs | 773 | by Staff reporter
'Ziyambi is talking garbage on Bulawayo water crisis'
Bulawayo residents have criticized the government’s stance on the city's water crisis, following comments from Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who attributed the s...Published: 09 Sep 2024 at 08:19hrs | 395 | by Staff reporter
BCC consider 2 000-metre drilling rigs to exploit aquifer under the city
Bulawayo is exploring the use of deep drilling rigs to access water from aquifers beneath the city as a solution to its ongoing water shortages. Despite being situated atop a significant aquifer, the ...Published: 08 Sep 2024 at 10:06hrs | 973 | by Gary Gerald Mtombeni
Zimbabwe bans amakorokoza
The Zimbabwean government has immediately banned all riverbed and alluvial mining activities due to the severe environmental damage they cause. This decision was announced by Information M...Published: 20 Aug 2024 at 16:50hrs | 15364 | by Prof Stephen Rupange
100 illegal gold panners arrested in Esigodini, Umzingwane
A recent joint operation by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and the police has led to the arrest of 100 illegal gold panners in the Umzingwane catchment area, which supplies much of the city’s water...Published: 17 Aug 2024 at 12:36hrs | 142 | by Staff reporter
Plant indigenous trees to stop Bulawayo's water woes
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has sounded the alarm over rising temperatures and dwindling water supplies in the city, urging residents to plant indigenous trees to combat the effects of climate change...Published: 15 Aug 2024 at 13:37hrs | 207 | by Staff reporter
Coltart courts police over illegal mining
Bulawayo mayor David Coltart has urged the police to increase patrols to stop illegal mining along rivers that supply the city's dams. The Bulawayo City Council has deployed municipal police, but thei...Published: 02 Aug 2024 at 07:01hrs | 123 | by Staff reporter
Over US$2 000 collected as BCC, police raid gold panners
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has reported that it collected over US$2,000 in fines for environmental violations across its jurisdiction and water catchment areas, according to its latest minutes addres...Published: 10 Jul 2024 at 07:48hrs | 2 | by Staff reporter
Family lives in fear of machete attack
In Donsa village, Silobela, Midlands province, a family lives in fear after two of its members were allegedly killed by a suspected gold panner, Patson Ncube, who is currently in police custody in Plu...Published: 19 Jun 2024 at 07:40hrs | 8 | by Staff reporter
Mnangagwa's son in destructive gold mining
THE once-pristine and picturesque Boterekwa escarpment in Shurugwi, Midlands province, now stands as a haunting monument to the ravages of human exploitation and destructive gold mining activities by ...Published: 19 May 2024 at 11:51hrs | 147 | by Staff reporter
Gold panners invade Bulawayo suburbs
GOLD panners have invaded Bulawayo causing environmental degradation in two of its suburbs, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has said.The illegal gold panners have caused environmental degradat...Published: 11 Mar 2024 at 11:33hrs | 5 | by Staff reporter
Man appears in court for killing rival suitor
A 32-year-old artisanal miner from Murehwa operating in the Kitsiyatota mining site, Bindura, has appeared in court for fatally stabbing a love rival. Nicholas Masangudza from Masangudza villa...Published: 16 Feb 2024 at 15:23hrs | 3 | by Staff reporter
Gold panning threatens Inyankuni pipeline
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has expressed concern over the rampant illegal gold panning which is threatening the Inyankuni pipeline.BCC draws most of its water from six supply dams in Matabele...Published: 09 Feb 2024 at 10:00hrs | 17 | by Staff reporter
Miners wreak havoc on roads
GOVERNMENT has expressed shock after illegal gold miners dug a four-metre tunnel under a section of the Gwanda-Beitbridge Road as vandalism of national infrastructure persists.Road and railway...Published: 13 Jan 2024 at 06:48hrs | 15 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo City Council pounces on gold panners
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has declared war on gold panners in Esgodini, collecting US$2 000 in fines in the process.According to latest council minutes on the Parks Section monthly report, a...Published: 08 Jan 2024 at 05:33hrs | 14 | by Staff reporter
Bulawayo supply dams at 44,43%
BULAWAYO supply dams are currently at 44,43% with the total volume of all dams at 184 208 617 cubic metres while the drawable volumes are at 167 623 509 cubic metres (m³), underlining the crisis the ...Published: 05 Dec 2023 at 20:39hrs | 20 | by Staff reporter
Gold panners wreak havoc in Bulawayo
BULAWAYO municipal police have arrested 140 illegal miners since January for panning for gold near the city's water bodies, causing massive siltation.This is revealed in the council's environm...Published: 14 Nov 2023 at 04:48hrs | 14 | by Staff reporter
Man slits his father and mother's throats
A man from Lupane in Matebeleland North is currently evading law enforcement after allegedly brutally murdering his parents during a family gathering last week. Clever Ngwenga (35), a resident...Published: 24 Sep 2023 at 09:06hrs | 1 | by Staff reporter
New 60-bed hospital takes shape in Bulawayo's Parklands
A BULAWAYO entrepreneur, Mr Victor Moyo is building a 60-bed hospital in Parklands suburb, a development that will complement Government efforts to improve access to healthcare services in the city....Published: 18 Sep 2023 at 06:58hrs | 12 | by Staff reporter
Cheating businessman axed to death, legs chopped off
A BUSINESSMAN was axed to death, and had his legs chopped off, in a vicious attack on Sunday for allegedly bedding a gold panner's wife.Abia Vimbai Mapininga (67) of Chindavata General Dealer,...Published: 25 Jul 2023 at 19:39hrs | 12 | by Staff reporter
Mozambique and Zimbabwe establish tri-basin institution to manage the Buzi, Pungwe, and save water resources
Harare, May 2023: The governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe have established a tri-basin institution to manage the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save River Basins' water resources, which have, over the years, su...Published: 11 Jun 2023 at 19:21hrs | 5 | by Agencies
Matebeleland South records increase in crime
Police in Matebeleland South say the province recorded a 10% increase in crime during the first quarter of the year.Acting provincial spokesperson Assistant Inspector Thandolwenkosi Moyo said ...Published: 21 May 2023 at 08:09hrs | 4 | by Staff reporter
Zimbabwe teachers resort to gold panning
Some teachers in rural schools in Gwanda district are absconding lessons to go and conduct mining activities, councillors say.Councillors also bemoaned the continued hiring of teachers that&nb...Published: 10 Apr 2023 at 20:11hrs | 3 | by Staff reporter
Cash flush panners prey on vulnerable girls
GOLD panners are reportedly preying on vulnerable young girls in Nkayi District in Matabeleland North by using their financial muscle to quench their sexual appetite on the adolescents thereby exposin...Published: 06 Apr 2023 at 06:41hrs | 2 | by Staff reporter
Gold panners impose curfew
RESIDENTS of Esigodini in Matabeleland South province are living in fear of suspected illegal panners who are terrorising them and have reportedly imposed some form of a ‘7 pm curfew' in the a...Published: 07 Oct 2022 at 05:55hrs | 1 | by Staff reporter
Villagers, miner clash over land
MZINYATHINI villagers in Umzingwane, Matabeleland South are up in arms against a miner they accuse of pegging his mining claims on their farmland.Ward 3 village co-ordinator David Mpofu confir...Published: 30 Aug 2022 at 06:35hrs | | by Staff reporter
Zimbabwe school dropouts skyrocket
ZIMBABWE has recorded a 20% increase in school dropouts since 2020 when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report by the Union of Education Norway in conjunction with the Zimbabwe...Published: 09 Aug 2022 at 08:23hrs | 4 | by Staff reporter
Govt insincere over Cyrene Farm invasion, says CCC
THE opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has slammed government for "pretending" that it was assisting the Anglican Church in Figtree, Matabeleland South province to stop land invasions at i...Published: 01 Aug 2022 at 06:38hrs | 14 | by Staff reporter
Gold panners dig under Kwekwe school
AUTHORITIES at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in Kwekwe have expressed concern that its classroom blocks face collapse as gold panners were digging under the school.Globe and Phoenix school ...Published: 31 May 2022 at 06:29hrs | 2 | by Staff reporter
Zimbabweans loudly rejected ZANU PF's half-baked two-bit so-called 'development'!
Although results of the recently-held parliamentary and local government by-elections were anything but surprising, with the romping to victory of the CCC (Citizens Coalition for Change) in 22 out of ...Published: 28 Mar 2022 at 14:10hrs | 2 | by Tendai Ruben Mbofana
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