adminsaid yesterday that they were struggling despite perceived huge profits they make.
“We are not benefiting from operating in rural areas and bemoan double taxation. We also use more than 3 000 litres of diesel per day, fuel that we import and have to pay duty and carbon tax,” he said.
Cde Mudarikwa said they have no financial support and could not borrow because of high interest rates. He said they also pay levies to the rural district council, Ministry of Mines and the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe. More expenditure is incurred by transport costs including the National Railways of Zimbabwe that transports the granite to the Mozambican coast.
“People think that as granite miners we make a lot of money, yet this is not so as there is need to limit expenditure. It should also be considered that as miners, we don’t determine market prices,” said Cde Mudarikwa.
In a bid to cut on expenditure, he said, they had been paying in advance to Zesa for a “ring- fenced” supply, but power cuts remained a drawback.
He reiterated that they were trying to create employment in marginalised areas while their community responsibility programmes have seen construction of schools, bridges and boreholes.
Natural Stone has a workforce of 221 workers, with 10 percent being skilled labour. It expects to employ more than 250 by October this year. The managing director of Manwick Granites, Mr Charvet Yves-Marc, concurred with Cde Mudarikwa that operation costs were high.
“We are also equally struggling due to high costs, and there is need for special funding for us to sustain operations,” he said.
Manwick has a workforce of 104 workers and has also helped in constructing clinics, dip-tanks and a community hall among others. Mutoko has seven granite mining companies and some of them started operating during the 1950s. At the peak of granite production in 1999, 124 000 metric tones were produced with the industry employing 1 300 workers, 1 000 being employees of Natural Stone.
Natural Stone Matabu Quarry manager Mr Kierie Brits said they had downsized their workforce because of the use of diamond wire cutting, that has reduced blasting. The Environment Management Agency has over the years raised concern at the environmental degradation caused by the mining concerns. Of major concern was the lack of rehabilitation of exploited areas and the low granite recovery rate of just 7 percent, with the rest being waste.
Online Reporter