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Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
Members of Parliament want the requirement of a minimum investment of US$100 million to exploit strategic resources be removed, saying it will discriminate against indigenous peoples and create a monopoly by foreign companies with the financial muscle to extract the resources.
They said the US$100 million minimum requirement which is contained in the Mines and Mining Amendment Bill was unconstitutional in that it discriminated against people on the basis of economic status to enjoy equal opportunities in mining.
This came out during debate in the National Assembly last week of the Mines and Mining Amendment Bill where the Parliamentary Legal Committee chaired by Mudzi South MP Cde Jonathan Samkange issued an adverse report on the Bill, saying some clauses ought to be relooked at as they were potentially unconstitutional.
The legal committee is a committee of Parliament that scrutinises Bills and Statutory Instruments to establish if they could violate the Constitution.
During debate, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando defended the Bill arguing extraction of strategic resources was capital intensive requiring huge investment.
In its report, the Parliamentary Legal Committee noted that Clause 6 (4) (a) (ii) provided that any person who wishes to mine a strategic mineral had to satisfy the Mines Minister that they had the capacity to invest at least US$100 million.
“The benchmark of the US$100 million is on the high side and appears to be a thumb suck figure such that the majority of ordinary citizens will be unable to mine strategic minerals.
“This will also affect local companies that cannot afford to invest that amount. This clause allows monopolisation of mining by foreign companies who are able to afford the stipulated figure. This clause is in violation of section 56(3) of the Constitution which prohibits discrimination on the basis of economic status for one to acquire equal opportunities in mining,” said Cde Samkange.
“The clause also defeats the national objectives set out in Chapter 2 of the Constitution in particular section 13 which advocates local communities to benefit from the resources in their areas and the empowerment of the Zimbabwean citizens through involving them in national development projects.
“It violates the principles of equity and inclusiveness by setting a figure that excludes other classes of the society on the basis of economic status.”
Chegutu West MP Cde Dexter Nduna (Zanu PF) said the Ministry should have a variation applying to domestic investors such as small-scale miners.
“That needs to be put in writing, to say this is how we respond to this Bill. Irrespective of that, there is what is called subsidiary legislation which is the Statutory Instrument and otherwise all policy makers are empowered to make subsidiary laws, that is a Statutory Instrument.
“However, in this main Act, for us to go through that clause, there has to be a clause that states that, irrespective of the US$100 million ceiling,” said Cde Nduna.
Harare East MP Mr Tendai Biti said the US$100 million requirement disfranchised indigenous persons.
In his response Minister Chitando said there is provision to reduce or increase the amounts in certain specific cases relating to certain specified strategic assets.
“Also, to note that when classifying assets as strategic, these are imported assets which require a lot of capital and are meant to be exploited on a large-scale basis. Therefore, it is important that there is a requisite investor who has sufficient capital to enable ideal exploitation of the assets,” said Minister Chitando.
“However, we wish to put in a provision to the effect that notwithstanding the minimum investment figure for exploiting a strategic asset, if following a report by the geological survey that the particular strategic mineral in a certain area can or is suitable for exploitation on a small-scale basis without sterilising the greater exploitation of the resource in the whole area, then the Minister shall permit any such small scale miner or group of miners to exploit these deposits subject to the other provisions of strategic minerals being complied with.”
Debate on the Bill is expected to continue when the National Assembly resumes siting.
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