Parly to debate adverse report on Mines Bill

Zvamaida Murwira

Senior Reporter

SECTIONS of the Mines and Mining Amendment Bill, largely dealing with registration of mining titles and ways disputes between miners and farmers can be resolved, may violate the Constitution, the Parliamentary Legal Committee has said.

The details are contained in a report still to be tabled before the House of Assembly by the committee.

The committee was set up by Parliament from among legally qualified legislators in terms of the Constitution to scrutinise all Bills brought before Parliament and report whether they are consistent with the Constitution. 

This then allows changes to be made before the legislation is enacted and then struck down by the Constitutional Court on application by someone who argues that their rights have been infringed upon.

In its oversight function, the committee issued an adverse report on the long awaited Bill, which among other clauses, would provide conflict resolution mechanisms between farmers and miners that include negotiations, referring disputes to the courts and an option allowing the farmer to sell the property to the miner among other proposed measures.

The committee, chaired by Mudzi South MP, Cde Jonathan Samkange, has expressed reservations on some of the clauses. 

Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda notified the House on Tuesday of the adverse report although he gave no details, saying these would come when Cde Samkange tables the committee report citing specific clauses.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando is expected to respond to the reservations by the committee before Parliament determines the way forward.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development chaired by Shurugwi South MP Cde Edward Mukaratigwa is also set to table a report regarding its findings on the Bill. That committee, besides its internal debate, also held public hearings across the country seeking the views of the people as required by the Constitution.

The Bill, which was gazetted early this year, seeks to reconstitute the composition of the Mining Affairs Board and clarify its functions, establish the Mining Cadastre Register and Registry, and reduce the classes of Mining Titles to three only as well as regulate the activities of prospectors.

The issue of how to resolve disputes with a farmer who in most cases is the landholder and a miner who is coming in to extract minerals has been a thorny matter for many decades, and has become increasingly so as more and more farming involves ever greater investment and infrastructure. 

Under Zimbabwean law, all mineral rights are owned by the State, and miners are licensed to prospect and mine, while farm land is owned by the State and leased out or allocated through an offer letter, or is privately owned, or is held in trust for communal farming communities. 

The Bill now provides a number of resolution frameworks which are hoped will strike a fair balance between conflicting parties.

With respect to prospecting, it proposes open negotiations between a farmer and a miner but if they fail to find common ground, the prospector might refer the dispute to the Provincial Mining Director who will have to make a determination after a hearing, with an appeal to the Permanent Secretary for Mines and Mining Development and ultimately compulsory purchase or sale of private land covered by a mining lease on application by the farmer.