Moffat Mungazi
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MINISTER of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza says the envisaged stoppage of artisanal mining along Mutare River, mainly in Penhalonga, stands to benefit the people of Mutasa whose youths amount to less than 500 of the 3 500 artisanal miners extracting the precious mineral along the river.
Minister Mugadza said this while addressing delegates during a Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace community engagement meeting held in Penhalonga yesterday.
Advocate Mugadza said his own research revealed that locals are a small fraction of the artisanal miners operating along Mutare River.
He said pollution caused by artisanal mining is admittedly a big issue in Mutasa and Manicaland at large.
“Polution is a big issue. The biggest issue we have here in Mutasa and even in Manicaland as a province. I can tell you there is always a solution to everything. The community has been benefiting in the short term. It takes our community to have the will to agree that we have to do it the proper way.
“There is going to be a process to assist us to benefit from the resource we have as a community. I did a research myself. I walked and asked about 32 out of the artisanal miners I met, all of them were not from Mutasa. The challenge that we have is that when we stop this thing those who cry the loudest are locals and yet they constitute a small number. We are not saying we want to benefit alone, but we stand to benefit more when this thing is stopped and done in an organised manner,” he said.
