Online Reporter
Tichaona Zindoga
Herald Correspondent
The mining sector is set for a revolution as the ruling Zanu-PF party has initiated a nationwide training of small scale miners to empower them with skills for sustainable operations.
The training is being held in conjunction with the School of Mines, and begins in Bulawayo this week. The first phase involves training of trainers before nationwide rollout.
The party is also pivoting on new legislation to ensure benefits accrue to indigenous Zimbabweans.
Secretary for Mines and Energy in the ruling party, Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, said in an interview last week that the training was in response to unsustainable practices in the sector, which is dominated by artisanal miners, also known as makorokoza/amakorokoza.
The education programme replicates the agriculture extension workers’ model, in which technical experts assist productive communities.
“The course which is taking place is train the trainers on basic mining (on) how on you drill, how do you handle explosives, how do you handle chemicals, how do you mine without damaging the environment,” Cde Mangwana said.
“We will think around again in conjunction with the School of Mines on other mining courses we can introduce so that we can have a basic mining course, medium mining course and advanced mining course, as we move forward.”
Meanwhile, on challenges faced by the country’s mining sector through the proliferation of some foreign players who have been accused of unsustainable practices, Cde Mangwana said the party had engaged the Government to bring sanity to the sector. “We have responded by nagging the Government, which has come up with legislation to restrict all small scale mining on local people.
“Foreigners can only come in to do medium to large scale mining. That is the new law that is being enforced right now,” Cde Mangwana said.
He added that foreign players should bring technologies and new investments “of a sizeable nature”.
“But we have said there is now a new definition of small scale mining. They (foreigners) are not supposed to work on 10 hectares. Anything above that they can particbipate as foreigners,” Cde Mangwana explained.
