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The Deputy Director of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO), Shamiso Mtisi, has said investment and sustainable development in the mining sector are inseparable “twins” that must work together for the benefit of the economy, communities, and the environment, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking at the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI), Mtisi said while mining companies often showcase their corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects like building schools, it is crucial to create platforms for communities to voice their concerns over environmental degradation and pollution.

“Definitely, mining companies will be able to share their corporate social responsibility activities and programmes. But at the same time, communities will also share some of their experiences when it comes to some of the areas where there is need to improve,” Mtisi said.

“When it comes to environmental degradation, pollution of rivers and also issues to do with how mining companies can plough back into the communities… that’s quite important. So those discussions will definitely help us in shaping different policies and laws in the country.”

He revealed that ZELO has been working closely with the Ministry of Mines to refine the long-awaited Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill. The ZAMI platform, he said, is designed to help investors understand the expectations of communities for responsible investment.

“Zimbabwe is definitely in need of responsible investments and there is need for all stakeholders to advance responsible investments discussions in the country,” Mtisi stated, endorsing the government’s “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra while stressing the need for sustainability.

Addressing the link between profitability and responsibility, Mtisi argued that they are not mutually exclusive.

“If you mine sustainably, you are likely to also generate good profits, you will also be improving the lives of people, you will also be protecting the environment as a miner. So I take investments, sustainable development as twins, things that move together,” he said.

With many new businesses entering the country, Mtisi emphasised the urgency of encouraging responsible and sustainable practices in the mining sector.

On the perennial issue of illegal mining, Mtisi called for a nuanced approach, suggesting a move towards formalisation. He proposed categorising artisanal miners and providing them with the necessary support to operate within the law.

“For us as an organisation, formalisation of artisanal mining is very, very key… through categorising different levels of payments or certificates that can be given to individuals or cooperatives,” he said.

“Then the other thing is to provide the artisanal miners or small-scale miners with equipment, finance, and other supportive infrastructure… For us, we believe that it’s important for our people to mine, and mine responsibly, whether as individuals, as cooperatives, but also generating income and creating jobs for themselves. That’s quite important, but it has all to be done responsibly.”

The Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) has solidified its role as a critical national platform for inspiring change and fostering dialogue between the government, mining investors, and communities, with top officials calling for sustainable and inclusive management of the country’s mineral wealth, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Dr Polite Kambamura said.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking during the ZAMI 14th Edition this week, Dr Kambamura emphasised that mineral extraction must look beyond immediate profit to ensure intergenerational equity.

“My view today is that when people are extracting from minerals, let it go beyond the extraction, but let’s look at sustainability. How will future generations benefit from what is happening today?” he said.

He positioned the global just energy transition, driven by demand for minerals like lithium and platinum group metals (PGMs), as a monumental opportunity for Zimbabwe, but only if managed correctly.

“This will provide employment to our people, it will provide a cleaner source of energy… It should not benefit only the investors, but our people, the owners of the minerals, the owners of the land should also benefit,” Kambamura stated, adding that everyone must be included in both upstream and downstream industries.

The Deputy Minister defended the government’s record, citing national peace and ongoing infrastructure projects as evidence of proper mineral resource management.

“When you see roads being constructed, hospitals being built, that money is coming from the minerals… So if properly managed, our people can benefit from their mineral resources. But if mismanaged, we see that there will be challenges,” he warned.

His comments dovetailed with those of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO) Deputy Director, Shamiso Mtisi, who earlier underscored that investment and sustainable development are inseparable “twins.” Mtisi argued that platforms like ZAMI are essential for shaping policy, allowing communities to voice concerns over environmental degradation and pollution directly to lawmakers and investors.

“Those discussions will definitely help us in shaping different policies and laws in the country,” Mtisi said, revealing that ZELO is actively working with the Ministry of Mines to refine the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill.

Both speakers agreed on the necessity of formalising the artisanal mining sector. While Mtisi detailed the need for providing “equipment, finance, and other supportive infrastructure” to small-scale miners, Kambamura highlighted the government’s commitment to collaboration.

“As a government, we stand ready to work with ZELO, that’s why I’m here today, to hear issues coming from the organisation, to hear issues coming from the people, to engage people,” Kambamura said, acknowledging that resolving complex issues is “a process, not an event” that often requires a whole-of-government approach.

The consensus from ZAMI 2025 is clear: for Zimbabwe to truly benefit from its mineral endowment, a collaborative, sustainable, and inclusive path is not just ideal—it is imperative. The platform continues to be a vital engine for inspiring the change needed to achieve that goal.

Zimbabwe is embarking on a transformative journey to redefine its mining sector, with the new Mines and Minerals Bill Amendment placing public consultation, sustainability, and global best practices at its core, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

In a significant shift towards transparent lawmaking, the government has thrown the doors open for national dialogue, urging citizens, miners, and investors to help shape a law that will govern the country’s most valuable natural resources for generations to come.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Eng Polite Kambamura, has positioned the soon-to-come consultation process as a testament to the government’s commitment to inclusivity.

“The fact that the Mines and Minerals Bill Amendment is going through public consultation shows a government that is ready to engage its citizens and hear their comments… it’s not being done behind closed doors. It’s a show of transparency, a readiness for inclusivity, leaving no one behind,” Eng Kambamura stated.

This open-door policy marks a deliberate move away from past criticisms of opaque decision-making. The Deputy Minister explicitly called for stakeholders to present their views on critical issues, including artisanal mining formalisation, community beneficiation, and human rights safeguards.

This inclusive approach, he argued, is essential to align the law with “changing markets, growth dynamics, and the need to be in sync with regional and international standards.”

Beyond domestic governance, the Bill is intricately linked to Zimbabwe’s global economic positioning. Eng Kambamura highlighted that a modern, transparent legal framework is key to attracting quality investment.

“It was a very good experience to market our country as a friendly and responsible mining destination,” he noted, underscoring that global investors increasingly prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards alongside mineral potential.

A central pillar of the proposed amendment is the imperative of sustainable development. The Deputy Minister defined the Bill’s philosophy clearly: “Development that meets the needs of the current generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs — that is sustainability.”

This principle seeks to ensure that mineral extraction contributes to long-term national prosperity rather than short-term exploitation.

Paving the Way for a National Mining Policy

In a pivotal revelation, Eng Kambamura indicated that the passage of this Bill would create the foundation for Zimbabwe’s first comprehensive national mining policy.

“I think the Bill will open up a way for the Ministry to draft a mining policy first. And all these other issues will now fall under the mining policy,” he said.

This move promises to provide a cohesive, long-term strategy for the sector, encompassing value addition, local content, and community development.

Despite the open forum, the Deputy Minister cautioned against public apathy, revealing that some are already treating the draft as a finished product.

“Some people are already taking it as if it were closed doors… That’s not the position. We’re still hoping for engagement,” he explained, issuing a direct call for robust participation to ensure the final law is reflective of the nation’s aspirations.

The message is clear: the future of Zimbabwe’s mining sector is being written now, and every voice has a role in shaping it.

Just weeks after Parliament revoked its illegal attempt to tax and regulate miners, the Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe Zvataida Rural District Council (UMP RDC) has engineered a fresh and sophisticated strategy to control the mining sector, embedding restrictive measures within a new set of environmental by-laws.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

This move, detailed in Statutory Instrument 83 of 2025, represents a deliberate effort to circumvent the clear ruling of the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC), which in August declared the council’s previous mining-specific by-laws (S.I. 75 of 2025) ultra vires — or beyond its legal power. The PLC had unequivocally stated that the power to levy and permit miners rests solely with the national Minister of Mines, not local councils.

Rather than retreating, the UMP RDC has now woven a complex web of environmental regulations that effectively create a duplicate, local-layer bureaucracy specifically for mining companies. This new framework, while ostensibly focused on conservation, is designed to bring miners under the council’s authority, imposing new submission requirements, hefty fines, and a significant risk of regulatory contradiction that could paralyse operations.

The Core of the Legal Overreach

The primary flaw in UMP RDC’s strategy lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of legal mandate. In Zimbabwe’s legal system, a local authority is a creature of statute. It only possesses powers explicitly delegated to it by an Act of Parliament, such as the Rural District Councils Act or the Environmental Management Act (EMA). It cannot simply invent new powers, especially in an area already comprehensively occupied by a specific national law.

The Mines and Minerals Act is a complete and self-contained code for mining. It establishes a detailed system from prospecting to closure, including environmental management. It designates specific national authorities — the Mining Commissioner, the Secretary for Mines, and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) — to oversee these processes.

Nowhere in this national framework is the UMP RDC, or any RDC, named as a regulatory body for mining. By inserting itself into this process, the council is acting without a legal mandate.

1. The Illegality of the “Submission” Requirement: Section 38(2) and (3) of S.I. 83 states:

   (2) All holders of prospecting, exploration and mining rights operating in the council area shall submit copies of their licences to council.
   (3) Any holder of a prospecting, exploration or mining right operating in the council area without submitting a copy of their licence to council shall be liable to a fine specified in the Third Schedule.

   This is the most blatant overreach. The obligation to “submit” a licence implies a right to receive and process it. The Mines and Minerals Act does not create this obligation. A mining title issued by the Ministry of Mines is valid across Zimbabwe. It does not require endorsement, registration, or submission to a local council for validation. By creating this new step and attaching a financial penalty (a $1,000 fine, as per the Third Schedule) for non-compliance, the UMP RDC is effectively creating a de facto local permitting system. They are punishing miners for not following a procedure that exists only in their by-laws, not in national law. This is a clear usurpation of the Minister of Mines’ authority.

2. Duplicative and Onerous Environmental Reporting: Section 10 of the by-laws demands that project developers (explicitly including miners) submit a full suite of environmental documents to the council, including:

   • Copies of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report

   • The EIA Certificate issued by the EMA

   • The annual Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

   Failure to do so carries a massive penalty of $5,000 per inspection.

   This is duplicative, unnecessary, and burdensome. The EMA is the national body mandated by the Environmental Management Act to receive, approve, and monitor these exact documents. The entire EIA process, including public consultations, is already overseen by the EMA. The council’s demand for copies is not for “information” but for enforcement. It gives them a pretext to inspect and fine miners based on their own interpretation of documents already approved by the competent national authority. This creates a high risk of contradictory directives between the EMA and the RDC, paralysing operations.

3. The Council as Environmental Enforcer: A Mandate it Doesn’t Possess
   Sections 11 and 12 of the by-laws empower the council to monitor rehabilitation plans and even carry out rehabilitation works itself, charging the cost back to the miner or landowner.

   While environmental rehabilitation is crucial, the primary legal authority for enforcing this against miners again lies with the EMA, as per the Environmental Management Act. The EMA has the technical capacity and the national mandate. The council’s role should be collaborative, reporting violations to the EMA, not unilateral. By positioning itself as the primary enforcer of mining environmental standards, the council is again stepping into a role Parliament assigned to a national body.

A Recipe for Regulatory Chaos and Extortion

The practical consequence of this overreach is not environmental protection but regulatory chaos. It creates a dual system that is unsustainable for miners:

• Double Jeopardy: A miner could be in full compliance with the Ministry of Mines and the EMA but still be fined by the UMP RDC for violating a local by-law that imposes stricter or different requirements. For example, their EMA-approved EMP might not satisfy a local councillor.

• Increased Cost of Doing Business: The new fines and fees (e.g., $2,000 for EIA consultation with the council) represent a new tax on mining, increasing operational costs and discouraging investment, especially for small-scale and artisanal miners who are least able to bear them.

• Bureaucratic Bottlenecks: Operations could be halted not by the EMA or the Mining Commissioner, but by a local official demanding paperwork that the national law does not require.

• Potential for Abuse: Such vague and expansive local powers can easily be abused for rent-seeking behaviour, where compliance is negotiated rather than based on the law.

A Solution in Search of a Problem

The UMP RDC’s concerns about environmental degradation from mining are likely valid. However, the solution does not lie in enacting legally dubious bylaws that duplicate existing national frameworks.

The correct and legal path is twofold:

1. Collaboration, Not Regulation: The council must use existing channels. It can formally lobby the EMA and the Ministry of Mines to strengthen enforcement in their district. It can report violations directly to these bodies, which have the full legal power to act.

2. Use Actual Mandated Powers: The council should focus its energies on its undisputed mandates under the RDC Act: waste management, land-use planning (grazing, cultivation), and protecting wetlands from non-mining activities. Its new by-laws are overwhelmingly focused on these areas and are on solid legal ground there.

Until the UMP RDC recognises that its authority stops at the mine gate, and that its role is to partner with national agencies rather than attempt to regulate them, it will continue to enact legislation that is vulnerable to legal challenge, creates uncertainty, and ultimately hinders both economic activity and genuine environmental protection. The precedent set by S.I. 83, if unchallenged, invites every other RDC in Zimbabwe to create their own patchwork of mining regulations, effectively dismantling the national mining policy and creating a regulatory nightmare of epic proportions.