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Noah Pito in HURUNGWE
Chief Chundu of Hurungwe in Mashonaland West Province, has urged Government to urgently intervene and stop the plunder of gold deposits in his area by illegal panners.
The Chief told The Herald last week that gold dealers coming from as far as Mberengwa and Shurugwi armed with gold detectors, started flooding his area following the discovery of the precious resource in the Chewore-Mkwichi game area last year.
“Since the gold deposits are in a game area we want Government to come up with a position that ensures sustainable mining.
“Let the mining be also formalised so that my people become party to the mining ventures — rather than the present scenario where we witness 60 to 70 cars coming into the area daily and using my poor subjects to help them plunder our indigenous resources.
“Our roads are poor and this could be our opportunity to have new roads built and others rehabilitated,” he fumed.
Police have warned villagers against accommodating visitors who later turn out to be gold panners.
According to Chief Chundu, after risking their lives by assisting the panners into the gold area, which is 50 kilometres into the game area, the villagers are paid tokens as small as US$20 while the panners loot gold worth thousands of dollars.
“I am happy the police have promised to dispatch black boots (support unit team) into the area to restore order.
“I think this is the best way to deal with the current situation, although more should be done in benefiting the community following the discovery of this precious resource,” he said.
When The Herald visited the Chundu and Kazangarare areas last week, roads leading to the area had vehicle checkpoints manned by the police.
Online Reporter