HARARE - Government on Friday gazetted a statutory instrument decentralising the country’s mining districts, in a move meant to rationalise operations in the ministry.
This comes as Mines and Mining Development deputy minister Fred Moyo recently announced that government had abolished the posts of chief mining commissioner, mining commissioners and assistant mining commissioners in line with the ministry’s new structure.
“It is hereby notified that the minister of Mines and Mining Development in terms of section 324 of the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05), hereby makes the following notice,
“This notice may be cited as the Mines and Minerals (Mining Districts) Notice 2014- Abolition of new districts-The following mining districts have been abolished- Harare, Kadoma, Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo.
“The new mining districts will be Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East which includes Harare province, Manicaland, Midlands, Matabeleland North which includes Bulawayo province, Matabeleland South and Masvingo,” the government gazette said, under Statutory Instrument 125 of 2014.
The eight provincial capitals are meant to meet service demand and enhance monitoring and surveillance of mining activities countrywide.
This comes in the wake of the proliferation of mining activities all over the country.
Previously, mining districts were only in Harare, Kadoma, Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo and people had to travel for long distances to access services.
According to Moyo, the restructuring will accelerate revenue inflows into the fiscus and ensure staff with relevant technical qualifications at the provincial offices.
He said any mining activities in Harare and Bulawayo now falls under Mashonaland East and Matabeleland North mining provinces respectively.
Moyo also said the mining provinces would be headed by provincial mining directors supported by deputy mining directors for Geology, Metallurgy, Mining Engineering Promotion and Development.
The mines ministry has also created a new department of Mining Research and Value Addition “to promote value addition and beneficiation as well as fully operationalise the mining cadastral system which is the digitalisation of the mining title system”.
While Zimbabwe is endowed with vast mineral resources, the country has benefited little from these resources with reports of pillaging and underhand dealing as well as bad corporate governance.
Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa earlier this year ordered the closure of all mining commissioners’ offices across the country to allow an audit of departmental operations amid reports of corruption and double allocation of mining claims.