Emmanuel Kafe
SMALL-SCALE miners have re-elected Ms Henrietta Rushwaya as president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) for another seven-year term, citing her leadership and contribution to the growth of the sector.
Ms Rushwaya, who has led the country’s largest small-scale miners’ representative body for several years, was re-elected in Harare on Friday.
The election was attended by Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Thomas Utete Wushe.
In her acceptance speech, Rushwaya thanked members for renewing their confidence in her leadership, saying the mandate reflected their recognition of the work done by the federation.
She pledged to intensify efforts to address drug and substance abuse among small-scale miners, which she identified as one of the challenges facing the sector.
“Being re-elected is not child’s play. I want to thank you for re-electing me for seven years,” she said.
“We have been working tirelessly to make our country great through gold production. This re-election is not purely on vote buying or rigging, but it is purely on hard work and focus. I am pledging to deal with drug abuse among small-scale miners.”
Rushwaya first assumed the ZMF presidency in 2018 and has since become one of the prominent figures in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
ZMF is one of the country’s largest mining representative organisations, with a membership of more than two million small-scale miners.
The sector plays a significant role in Zimbabwe’s gold industry, accounting for more than 60 percent of gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery, the country’s sole authorised gold buyer and exporter.
