Zimbabwe boosts mining sector with training on legislation, agreements

Rutendo Nyeve, Online Reporter

THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development officials have converged in Victoria Falls where they are undergoing intensive training in mining legislation, mining agreements and tender processes.

The initiative, which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development in collaboration with the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), aims to equip public officials with critical skills to manage the industry efficiently and transparently.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Dr Engineer Caleb Makwiranzou said the training is the brainchild of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, which submitted a request to the ALSF for capacity building concerning structuring, negotiating and managing contracts in the mining and petroleum sectors.
“The objective of the required assistance by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was to enhance and empower the Government to negotiate and manage agreements and licences within the Oil and Gas extractive sector; to strengthen the Government’s negotiation skills to ensure that agreements entered into by the Government create a win-win situation to achieve the commercial objectives.
“This has since been done, and the ALSF has developed a detailed model Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Agreement (PEDPA) as well as a Petroleum Toolkit. This will ensure that Zimbabwe will not be shortchanged when it comes to its mineral resources. This will in turn, also go a long way in helping the country to reach its goal of a prosperous and empowered Upper Middle-Income society by 2030,” said the Deputy Minister.

He said an understanding of the mining legislation by Government officials is key, as it allows for the efficient running of the mining industry.

With regards to agreements, the Deputy Minister said the Government is moving towards a policy where it must have a share in the major mining projects in the country to ensure that there is full benefit.
“An efficient and transparent tender process is equally important. It ensures that tenders in the mining sector are awarded only to deserving entities that have the capacity to invest in our mining sector and to add real value to the country at large,” he said.

He said Zimbabwe is currently in the process of amending its mining legislation, such as the Mines and Minerals Act, the Gold Trade Act and the Precious Stones Trade Act which have become outdated and no longer match the changes brought about by technology as well as the land reform programme.