‘Incentivise whistle-blowers’

Herald Reporter
Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa says members of the security forces or whistle blowers who intercept and expose people smuggling minerals out of the country must be given incentives.

He made the remarks at a mining media awards ceremony sponsored by MEJRKH Communications and Advisory and the Chamber of Mines on Friday last week.

Minister Chidhakwa, who spoke as the guest of honour, said this following the interception of a gold haul worth about $1 million at Plumtree Border Post last week.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Christopher Mushowe attended the media event.

“Yesterday 28,5kg of gold were recovered from somebody who had stolen the mineral and wanted to take it out of the country.

“It doesn’t happen everyday that you get 28kg of gold being recovered. I want to say he who recovers must be rewarded . . . because if we don’t do that, what inspires that person to do better than yesterday? What inspires the neighbour to be better than his other neighbour? Nothing! So, we must do that,” Minister Chidhakwa said.

Border Control and Minerals Unit police officers at the Plumtree Border Post arrested Pudohope James Rove last Wednesday with the gold stashed in a secret compartment in his vehicle’s loading box, on his way to Botswana.

He was arrested at the exit gate after completing all Immigration and Zimra formalities. Several gold smugglers have been arrested at the country’s borders amid indications that the country is losing minerals worth millions of dollars every month as a result of smuggling to neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, all the nominees under the Zimpapers stable won prizes at the awards ceremony with Chronicle’s Obey Sibanda being the best Gold sector reporter, while The Herald Senior Reporter, Lloyd Gumbo was the first runner-up in the Diamond Best Reporter Award. The Sunday Mail’s Chief Reporter, Kuda Bwititi and former Chronicle reporter, Factmore Dzobo were first runner-ups in Gold Sector and Small Scale and Artisanal Mining awards respectively.