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Heather Charema Correspondent
Invetsors in Mashonaland West Province have been urged to take part in the rehabilitation of roads and infrastructure development as a way of giving back to host communities. There have been concerns that Mashonaland West Province has a number of investors, but no investment has been made in developing roads and infrastructure.
In an interview, Chegutu West House of Assembly Member, Cde Dexter Nduna said it was important for investors to develop local communities. Cde Nduna urged Mashonaland West investors to emulate Mimosa Mine and Hwange Colliery, which were playing a pivotal role in road network development.
“If investors in Mashonaland West take part in developing their local communities where they operate from, right now we will be having developed cities and towns in the province,” he said.
“I urge those in the mining sector to emulate Hwange and Mimosa which developed a big part of their road networks and prioritised the infrastructure development in their respective communities. Hwange Colliery managed to surface many kilometres in 100 years and Mimosa also surfaced all the roads leading to their operations and around the mine.”
Cde Nduna said some mines such as Pickstone Mine, with huge gold reserves, had failed to surface roads around their area of operation.
“It is saddening to note that Pickstone Mine has not surfaced any of their roads,” he said. “They should also help in the surfacing and rehabilitation of roads in Chegutu. Rio-Zim, which is operating in Eiffel Flats, has also not done anything to upgrade roads in the areas they operate. They only repair potholes they create on the Suri-Suri Road to the airforce base in Chegutu.”
Cde Nduna said Chegutu had at least 20 gold mines, yet it was one of the least developed towns in the country. He said if the mining firms in Chegutu district developed the roads and infrastructure, there would have been about 20 cities in the district to date.
“The mining sector has a very big role in developing the communities and ensuring that they benefit from various businesses in their localities,” he said.
Online Reporter