Chronicle Editor
Mining is the cog of our economy. It accounts for more than 60 percent of exports and up to 15 percent of the gross domestic product. It formally employs more than 38 000. It provides informal jobs to more than 1,5 million people. Many towns are based on local mining activities – Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane, Hwange, Penhalonga and so on.
Gold mining is the king in many respects including in revenue generation and job creation, particularly the artisanal side of it. We have individuals who wake up daily to work as amakorokoza across the country. That is their bread and butter.
However, there are cases where and when the work of gold panners poses grave danger to communities. They dig up everywhere, including on other people’s properties or too close to them. They leave the huge pits open, endangering livestock, people and the environment. In some cases, the panners fight among themselves or visit that violence upon people living in the areas they operate.
These are the challenges that some residents of Queens Park, Killarney and Mqabuko Heights in Bulawayo are experiencing.
We cited Mr Norman Mutero, a Mqabuko Heights resident yesterday worrying over the work of amakorokoza on an approximately two-hectare piece of land in a section of the low-density suburb.
“At the rate these guys are digging on the hill in search of gold, one day floods of muddy water will flow into our homes when heavy rains hit this part of the city,” he said.
“We’re concerned for our safety. The gold panners have been here for a couple of years and they have devised ways of evading raids by the police by working only at night and disappearing at sunrise. During the day you don’t see them.
“This is a low-density residential area and the presence of gold panners will lower the value of our properties.”
Indeed, his lament indicates that the impact of illegal, uncontrolled mining is multifaceted and far-reaching. We are drawn here to Mr Mutero’s concern that apart from the illegals decimating the environment, their activities damage the monetary value of their properties.
Residents cannot do anything to deal with the illegal gold panners. We know how ungovernable and violent they can be.
This means that law enforcement – police and municipal police – must step up and clear Killarney, Mqabuko Heights, Queens Park and other areas across the country of illegal miners.
Yes, we acknowledge the importance of mining to the economy but mining must be conducted in terms of the law. Just like agriculture. One cannot go about cultivating on riverbanks or wetlands. These are off-limits, just like yards in Killarney, Mqabuko Heights, Kensington and Queens Park suburbs.
Online Reporter