Zimbabwe loses 100pc mining land to foreign investors
Zimbabweans are losing mining concessions and claims that they struggled to acquire through the reversal of the indigenous laws that protected Zimbabwean citizens from losing their land to foreign investors who can now own up to 100 percent of the mining land, former Minister of Youth and Indigenisation Saviour Kasukuwere has said.
Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking at the memorial service of the former president of Zimbabwe which was hosted by South Africa’s Economic Freedom Front (EFF), Kasukuwere blasted the current government for reversing the indigenisation and economic act which was targeted at empowering Africans in having control over their land.
Chairperson of Norton Miners Association Privilege Moyo has supported Kasukuwere saying that Zimbabwe needs to look into its policies , and prioritise the local ownership by making sure that foreign investors are not treated the same as local investors.
According to Moyo, a foreign firm or investor can come to Zimbabwe and buy 1250 hectares of mining land for less than USD 4000, which is the same yardstick that is used when selling land to locals.
“…there has to be a difference in the way in which mining concessions are granted, let the fees be lower than that of foreigners and much higher to foreign investors”
“They are coming over to take our land for less than USD4000. A billionaire can pay for that and its nothing to them but he will get millions of profits from the land’’ said Moyo.
Moyo also said that the government was not supposed to remove the economic and indigenous act completely which in a way has been safeguarding the economic freedom of Zimbabweans in their land. According to Moyo, if 51 percent local ownership was not favourable, they should have reduced it to at least 25 percent to make sure that locals will still benefit.
“we are losing the benefits of the war, foreigners are owning 100 percent in our mines” he said.
Through the Economic and Indigenous act, Zimbabweans were entitled to 51 percent of every mining concession granted in Zimbabwe which meant that no foreign firm was allowed to own more than 49 percent of the land .However, the act was blasted for not being friendly in attracting Foreign Direct Investment which prompted the current president Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to scrap it off completely in order to attract foreign investment through his slogan, “Zimbabwe is open for business.”