Chronicle Editor
Pride Mahlangu, Business Reporter
THE Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) says interested individuals and corporates can now participate in buying and selling of gemstones as agents of the company.
MMCZ said in a statement that the decision to liberalise trading would also go a long way in tackling corruption and bringing transparency in the gemstone market.
“Interested Zimbabwean citizens are invited to submit an expression of interest to be considered and licensed as MMCZ sub-agents to purchase coloured gemstones around the country and selling the same through the corporation as per MMCZ Act Chapter 21:04. MMCZ Gemstones sub agents are appointed in terms of SI 256 of 2019,” said MMCZ.
“The function of an MMCZ gemstone sub-agents is to buy coloured gemstones from small scale miners within Special Grants as defined in the SI 256 of 2019 and sell the coloured gemstones through Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe.”
This development comes as the country is losing millions of dollars in potential revenue through well-orchestrated international trafficking syndicates smuggling semi-precious minerals mostly in rural areas.
It is hoped that the opening of the gemstone market for locals may revamp the industry and create more employment.
In 2017, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation agreed on joint efforts with MMCZ to roll out an outreach programme to curtail rampant leakages of the country’s semi-precious minerals.
It is estimated that Zimbabwe has about 36 semi-precious minerals that include agate, amethyst, alexandrite, aquamarine, heliodor, goshenite, chrysoberyl, iolite and tourmaline. — @pridesinstinctz.
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