peter
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mining and Mining Development has been urged to expedite the tabling of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill before Parliament as the 20-year delay in amending the act has given rise to conflict within the sector.
Speaking to Members of the Committee during an induction workshop meeting in Bulawayo last week, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda said Committee Members must make it a top priority to see the mining law being reviewed to further increase the capacity of the mining sector in Zimbabwe.
“Your Committee should, therefore, ensure that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development comes up with sound policies and legislation that attract investment in the exploitation of critical energy minerals. In this regard, it urgently behooves your Committee to ensure that the long-awaited Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill is tabled before Parliament no sooner than later. The 20 years of delay in reviewing the mining law has exacerbated the conflict challenges being experienced by the stakeholders in the mining sector,” said Adv Mudenda.
He said some of the challenges the mining sector has been facing because of the delay in the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Bill include the non-recognition of small-scale miners as an integral part of the mining sector, delays in resolving disputes over mine boundaries and ownership and balancing rights between miners and other land surface users such as farmers, environmentalists, and wildlife conservancies.
He further said there are limited sustainable environmental mining practices that should guarantee the safety and health of miners as well as the conservation of the environment.
Adv Mudenda also said there is non-use of computerised cadastre system in the registration of mining titles which is detrimental to the development of the sector adding that the Amendment Bill will see the curbing of illicit financial flows from the mining sector.
“Consequently, I hope that the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill will be aligned to regional and international agreements such as the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework, the Africa Mining Vision, and the Sadc Protocol on Mining. In the same vein, I urge the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to also assiduously finalise the long overdue Minerals Development Policy which should underpin the architecture of future mining legislation” he said.
The Committee was told to be alive to the requirements of section 315(2) of the Constitution which provides that “An Act of Parliament must provide for the negotiation and performance of State Contracts, Joint-venture contracts and contracts for the construction and operation of infrastructure and facilities; concession of mineral and other rights to ensure transparency, honesty, cost-effectiveness, and competitiveness”.
“These provisions underscore the necessity for the country to get optimal value from contracts that are concluded with investors. This is in line with the 2009 Africa Mining Vision which highlights the need for governments to enter into water-tight contracts that are beneficial to the country. Your Committee should, therefore, take a kin oversight interest in the structure of the mining contracts entered into with the prospective companies as approved by the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency,” emphasised Adv Mudenda.
The Mines and Mining Development Committee was further encouraged to champion value addition and beneficiation of our minerals as directed by President Mnangagwa and that the Committee must take heed of the acknowledgment by the National Development Strategy1 (NDS1) which observes that Zimbabwe mainly exports unprocessed minerals ores, disadvantaging the nation in terms of job creation and enhanced revenue generation.
Most mineral beneficiation facilities either lie idle or are underutilised. These include Fidelity Printers and Refiners, Alaska Copper Refinery, Bindura Nickel Corporation Refinery and Kwekwe Roasting Plant. @NyembeziMu
Online Reporter