Granite mining firms under fire

Victor Maphosa Herald Reporter
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Roads and Infrastructure has castigated granite mining companies in Mutoko for neglecting roads in the area, saying that is slowing economic growth in the community and the nation at large. The committee said it was the responsibility of the granite stone extractors in the district to upgrade and maintain all the roads, which they use to conduct their business.

Speaking to The Herald after meeting executives at the Natural Stone Exporters’ offices in Mutoko on Tuesday, chairman of the committee Cde Dexter Nduna said he was disappointed by the miners’ failure to upgrade the dirty roads in the community, yet they have been extracting high value granite stones for the past 30 years.

“Thirty years of resource extraction in this area, but there is nothing to show for it in as far as roads and infrastructure is concerned. This is slowing the economic growth in Mutoko as good roads are an incentive to good business,” he said. Cde Nduna said the nation relied more on roads in doing business than any other infrastructure and that’s the reason the extractors should take maintaining roads seriously. Responding to the mine executive’s argument that they lacked the expertise to guide them in upgrading the roads and that they would seek guidance from the Mutoko council, Cde Nduna said the process was taking too long and should have been done a long time ago since the miners had been in the area for 30 years.

The executives also pointed out that they were facing challenges due to the economic situation and as such could not afford to tar the roads surrounding the mining area. Cde Nduna advised them to partner with other miners in the same area to improve the state of the roads. The extractors promised the committee that they will widen the dirty roads starting this weekend.

The committee hailed the miners for participating in other community development projects where they reconstructed a local secondary school, which was destroyed by heavy winds last year. They said they were also providing chiefs with 200 litres of diesel every month to ensure their movement within the community. There are more than five registered granite stone mining companies in Mutoko.