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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
President Mugabe has said the government is working towards re-establishing the monopoly of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as the buyer of gold through Fidelity Printers to curb the haemorrhaging of the country’s mineral resources through smuggling. Addressing members of the Gushungo clan at Murombedzi Growth Point on Friday, he said this was part of a raft of measures the government was putting in place to get maximum benefit from its natural resources.
He said the country had a lot of mineral wealth and God had blinded colonial and imperial eyes to the vast mineral wealth, including diamonds, saying focus was on alluvial diamonds but there were kimbelite diamonds as well.
President Mugabe urged panners to be organised for them to be given proper facilities to smelt the gold and sell the precious mineral to Fidelity Printers.
“Tichikupaiwo zvakare nzira dzakanaka dzekuti kana madaro monoita smelt kupi, motengesa, taane monopoly takati we must return to what we were, monopoly yeFidelity, Reserve Bank ndiyo yotenga, but Reserve Bank should give a good price vanhu varege kusmuggler,” he said.
“This time tabva muchitsvukuviri ichi (inclusive Government) we are ourselves chese chichemo nzvimbo nenzvimbo tochiteerera. Kuti kuagriculture, manufacturing, mining tozviongorora. Tinoda kutsetsa …kutsetsa, tisimudzire nyika yedu chaizvo izvo. Ava vanofunga kuti nyaya yemasanctions avo vangarambe vakatidzvinyirira tivanyadzise.
“We have our own resources and Mwari akationa nekuti haana kuvapa maziso akakwana kuti vaongorore hupfumi hwatinahwo hwese. Vakaona hongu maminerals akaita sana iron negold. They didn’t see much by way of diamonds.”
President Mugabe said after independence, the country got to know of the vast mineral wealth, especially diamonds and work was underway to organise the sector so that it became transparent and contribute significantly to Zimbabwe’s development.
He said among a raft of other measures, the government would soon trim the number of diamond firms to two from seven.
“We have lots of diamonds, kimberlite. Iyezvino vanhu varikungotora madiamonds anonzi alluvial aye emujecha, but kimbelite chaiyo iyo yekuenda mumugodhi hatisati taita and ndoyakawanda munyika iyoyo. Ndozvatiri kuorganiser iyezvino kuti tichivamba zvakanaka.
“Takwatura vese . . . most of the mining companies takanga tine seven we will only leave about two. NaMinister (Walter) Chidhakwa (Mines and Mining Development) we have been going through kuti tione record yacho. The good doers ndovatinongosiya about two, ivavo nehurumende zvichionekwa pachena zvatirikuita, zvichitengeswa vanhu vachiona kuti ndozvirikuitwa izvi, ndomari yatiri kuwana iyi, ndomashandisirwo airikuitwa.”
President Mugabe said there were even better reserves of gold in the country, but those involved, especially the small-scale miners commonly known as makorokoza should be organised.
He said panners could not be allowed to destroy the environment through mining in rivers.
“But not just diamonds, gold, gold, gold is even better than diamonds,” said President Mugabe. “Hapana kusina gold. Toronga madzimai edu nevamwe vanokorokoza ngavatinzwe, hatisi kuti regai kukorokoza, tirikuti dziripo nzvimbo dzisingaite.
“Mukati menzizi hazviite asi tinokupai nzvimbo dzakanaka dzekuti munokwanisa kukorokoza nezvimadhishi nezvimasefa zvakanaka.”
He said syndicates of unscrupulous buyers and refineries from South Africa were busy smuggling gold out of the country.
President Mugabe said maps from Anglo American and De Beers showed vast reserves of chrome, coal, iron, nickel, asbestos and copper.
He said the government was looking at mines that could be established within a short space of time and give yields before calling on banks to avail soft loans.
President Mugabe hailed efforts to uplift SMEs and their progressive development into bigger businesses.
He took a dig at MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai for his philandering, saying it could have accounted for his dismal loss in the July 31 2013 harmonised elections.
Online Reporter