adminRichard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
ARTISANAL miners in Matabeleland South whose claims were forfeited to the State recently are accusing some “big wigs” of manipulating authority to strip them of their resources.
More than 2 000 mining claims in Gwanda district were forfeited to the State after claim holders failed to pay taxes. Small scale-miners are required to pay an annual levy of $100 — also known as a certificate of inspection.
However, miners who participated at a hearing of the proposed Mines and Mining Development Amendment Bill of 2016 by the Parliamentary Portfolio on Mines and Mining Development and Energy and Power Development on Tuesday said the claims were wrongfully forfeited.
Former Gwanda Mayor Mr Rido Mpofu who is also into mining said the claims should be returned with immediate effect as he warned of fights between the old owners and those who would come to take up the claims.
“What are we here to discuss when all the artisanal miners in Gwanda have their claims forfeited? It is unheard of. Those claims should be returned with immediate effect. This is torture to people who are already failing to pay the $100 [that is] needed. They will be a fight if this issue is not resolved carefully,” he said.
Mrs Deliwe Moyo from Esigodini said the mining fees were too high for artisanal miners.
“The ministry should not treat small miners like big mines. There should be differentiation between us and those big mines like Blanket and Vumbachikwe.
“It is not fair for the ministry to forfeit these claims,” said Mrs Moyo.
Alderman Petros Mukwena said mining claims should be equally distributed to all people in the province and not to have “big wigs” coming to grab all for speculative reasons.
“The Bill should allow artisanal miners to graduate to be miners by providing support. The background of this country is from a socialist disposition where we should share the resources equally. Let us not have big wigs coming from Harare and Bulawayo and grab all mining claims here,” fumed Ald Mukwena.
He would not name the “big wigs”.
Uzumba legislator, Simbaneuta Mudarikwa chaired the meeting.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has said in a public notice that reversal of forfeiture was dependent on the payment of a “revocation fee.”
Most of the forfeited claims are gold claims.
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