ZRP expresses concern over miners disputes
The ZRP has expressed concern at the high rate of disputes among chrome miners, and called on them to abide by the terms of their contracts.
Officer Commanding Police, Minerals Flora and Fauna, Chief Superintendent Kumboyedza Mavhaku, said this during a Minerals and Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) stakeholder consultative meeting for the chrome sector.
The chrome miners, who benefited from Government’s decision to give indigenous miners title for chrome- rich deposits they used to mine under tributary arrangements, are fighting each other, affecting operations.
In 2015, Government directed ZimAlloys and Zimasco to cede 50 per cent of their chrome claims to indigenous miners.
The government also indicated that miners who were exploiting the claims under tributary arrangements be given the right of first refusal in the distribution of the claims.
But some unscrupulous miners disregarded the directive and moved in to claim title in areas they had not previously operated, causing endless disputes that impact on production.
Chief Supt Mavhaku said: “It is true that for us to be more productive, we need a conducive environment for production. An environment that is free of crime . . . the objective is to curb mineral leakages in order to ensure the economic growth of our beloved Zimbabwe.”
Chief Supt Mavhaku said tributary mining was giving them “a bit of challenges here and there because there are disputes and counter-disputes”.
“So, you find that these disputes sometimes end up in the courts and when they are pending determination at courts, you find that production is affected,” he said.
“So, we encourage the powers that be to speedily resolve such disputes. We are handling a lot of cases relating to the theft of chrome ore. If you take a closer look at such cases you realise that it’s emanating from these disputes that I have highlighted.”
Chief Supt Mavhaku said the police were handling cases of people illegally exporting chrome ore in the name of established chrome industry players, a move that adversely affected Government’s quest for mineral beneficiation.
Meanwhile, MMCZ is working with the ZRP Criminal Investigations Department to fight corruption in the mining sector, reports Charmaine Brown.
Speaking during the chrome stakeholders consultative meeting in Harare on Wednesday, MMCZ general manager Mr Tongai Muzenda said there was need to curb corruption in the mining sector through working closely with CID to ensure the economic growth of the country.
“There is need to curb corruption in the mining sector so that we have a clean, ethical and efficient sector,” he said. “We are currently working with the CID in investigating allegations in the chrome mining sector so that we deal with the issue of corruption.
“There is also the issue of documentation where people say their documents take time to be released because the front-runners in the chrome sector need to be bribed.
“One of the things I am going to recommend to the board is that we physically station our officers at the border posts to make sure that the documents are in sync with what is actually going out because if you are sitting in the office in Harare using the phone, you do not really know what is happening out there.”
Chief Supt Mavhaku, said there was need to reduce mineral leakages so that the mining sector becomes a conducive environment for production.
“As ZRP, we derive our mandate from the Constitution which, among other things, mandates us to prevent, investigate and protect crimes related to mineral facilities,” he said. “There is need to reduce mineral leakages in order to ensure that the sector develops into a conducive environment for mining production.”
MMCZ is owned 100 percent by Government and is an exclusive agent for marketing and selling of minerals produced in the country, apart from silver and gold. Herald