admin
George Maponga, Masvingo Bureau
ILLEGAL miners are on the prowl in Mashava where their mining activities have reportedly damaged nearly 40 houses used as halls of residence by students at the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) in the mineral-rich town.
GZU acquired houses in Mashava town from the Government after the collapse of Shabanie Mashava Mines(SMM) which was subsequently put under reconstruction.
The university refurbished hundreds of houses that were taken over from SMM, turning them into halls of residence for students in Mashava, in the process salvaging the urban settlement that was increasingly becoming a ghost town.
GZU runs a multi-campus system and Mashava is the institution’s biggest campus by student population.
The allure of minerals, especially gold, which is found in abundance in Mashava, has forced the miners to invade the GZU Mashava campus damaging halls of residence and spawning large-scale land degradation.
GZU Vice Chancellor Professor Rungano Zvobgo, castigated the illegal mining which he said was threatening infrastructure at the campus.
Prof Zvobgo appealed to law enforcement agencies to move in and stop the damage before the situation gets out of control.
”We have about 36 houses that we use to accommodate our students at Mashava campus that have been damaged by illegal mining activities. There are bands of illegal miners who are blasting and digging shafts right where the university houses are and this must be stopped before the situation gets out of hand,” said Professor Zvobgo.
”I am appalled that there are some people who are digging holes and shafts blasting the ground searching for gold and in the process damaging the houses that are there today because of the huge investment we made to breathe life into Mashava town.”
Yesterday the university hired an excavator to reclaim some of the huge shafts and craters created by illegal miners around GZU houses in Mashava.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa urged the university authorities to make a formal report about the illegal mining at the campus.
”We have not yet received a report about illegal mining activities at GZU Mashava campus by the university authorities, and we want to urge them to make a report at ZRP Mashava so that necessary action is taken. We do not condone illegal mining activities that spawn land degradation,” said Inspector Dhewa.
Online Reporter