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Midlands Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has identified leakages in the mining sector that have resulted in gold output dropping from 26 tonnes to only three tonnes per annum in recent years, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.Speaking at the official launch of the campaign rallies for Zanu-PF candidate for Chirumanzu Zibagwe constituency by-election, Cde Auxilia Mnangagwa, in Bob-Swift, Kwekwe, VP Mnangagwa said the country was losing a lot of potential revenue through gold leakages.
He said government was in the process of plugging the leakages and output has since risen to over 15 tonnes of gold per year.
“We have discovered 28 gold leakages that have been affecting the output of gold. We used to get 26 tonnes of gold every year and that output dropped to only three tonnes but now it has risen to 15 tonnes. We are hopeful that we will get more than what we are getting because we are mending the leakages,” he said.
VP Mnangagwa said government was also in the process of taking over Roasting Plant in Kwekwe and Athens Gold Mine in Mvuma for the benefit of indigenous people as part of the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme.
He said there was lack of transparency in the way the owners of the mines were operating.
“We are going to take over Roasting Plant in Kwekwe and Athens Gold Mine in Mvuma. We are going to tell the owners to cease operations and we take those companies immediately,” he said.
VP Mnangagwa said European countries had started to feel the heat of the country’s strong ties with Asian countries and were now in the process of reengaging Zimbabwe in a bid to mend relations.
He said a 21-member delegation mostly composed of European countries was recently sent to Zimbabwe with a view of signing business deals.
“There was a mining indaba in South Africa but we could not attend. We received a 21 member delegation representing Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Taiwan, Japan, China, Ivory Coast and Kenya, among other countries. These came to negotiate with us and they want to do business with us. They (Europeans) are beginning to feel the heat. However, we are not selective when it comes to investors coming to the country as long as they respect our laws,” he said.
The VP said government will soon merge all diamond companies at Marange to be left with two strong companies as the country intensifies economic revival and the implementation of Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).
“We are intensifying the implementation of Zim-Asset. We are going to merge all the diamond mines so that we are left with one or two strong companies. We are doing this because we must fully benefit as a country from these minerals,” he said.
Online Reporter