Severe budget constraints at the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development are threatening to derail the government’s push for responsible mining, with the ministry warning it lacks the resources needed to effectively carry out the next phase of the Responsible Mining Audit (RMA), Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
This concern was raised by the Chief Government Mining Engineer (CGME), who appealed for increased resources as the ministry prepares to undertake a fully fledged third Responsible Mining Audit. His remarks come at a time when the government has been stepping up compliance monitoring, signalling a shift toward stricter enforcement in the sector.
Last year, inspectors visited 728 mining operations, up from 424 in 2023, a significant expansion that underscores the growing importance of the RMA initiative. The government also issued fines amounting to USD 680,000, reflecting a more assertive stance on regulatory enforcement.
However, with a third audit approaching, CGME Michael Munodawafa warned that the ministry’s ability to maintain this momentum is being severely undermined by inadequate financial support.
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe on the sidelines of the RMA training workshop, he said more funding is urgently needed if the upcoming audit is to be carried out effectively.
“For the next audit, we’re going to have a challenge in the budget allocation. Our challenge is that we don’t have the tools of trade, the vehicles. Our work is fieldwork. We need the vehicles to go and do some fieldwork. The inspections, the responsible mining audits, those are some of the things that we do throughout the year as a ministry. But we’re not getting the budget support. It looks like the ministry is doing nothing about it, but it’s constrained because of the limited budget.”
“We need at least 30 vehicles to be shared throughout the provinces, but we are not getting that, and that is a big hindrance. With 30 vehicles, we’re going to be able to attend to at least 20,000 mining operations that can be inspected and audited at the same time. But at the moment, we are so outstripped. We are doing far less than that,” Eng Munodawafa added.
Munodawafa’s concerns echo long-standing frustrations within the ministry.
Despite the RMA’s growing significance, with audits conducted in 2023 and 2024 and a third planned for 2026, the Ministry of Mines continues to operate under tight fiscal constraints.
In 2025, it received ZiG 664.8 million (about US$22 million), and although the 2026 allocation rose slightly to ZiG 789 million (about US$26 million), the increase remains insufficient for nationwide oversight.
The ministry’s allocations continue to hover at around 1% of the national budget, despite mining contributing more than 60% of Zimbabwe’s export earnings.
This disparity has created a striking paradox. While Zimbabwe is increasing taxes and tightening fiscal measures on mining companies to capture more revenue, the ministry responsible for regulating and developing the sector continues to receive minimal operational support.
Government expects stronger compliance and enhanced oversight, yet the institutions meant to deliver these outcomes remain underfunded and overstretched.
As a result, chronic underfunding now threatens to stall a reform programme the government has repeatedly emphasised as key to improving compliance, reducing mineral leakages, and building a more accountable mining sector.
