Prospectors urge Ministry of Mines to put their house in order

The Zimbabwe Prospectors Association (Z.P.A) is urging the Ministry of Mines to improve its systems of operations across all mining provinces.

The association argues that there are a lot of problems that require serious attention if the mining industry is to improve in production, efficiency, and effectiveness.

“The pertinent issues range from delays in the processing of mining certificates, verifications of applications, and ground inspections. Disputes, delays, and difficulties in resolving them, issuance of mining certificates is taking several years in other mining provinces. Torn or tattered and obscure maps are one of the causes of several mining disputes. Blanketing or carpeting of the whole country mineable areas with speculative E.P.OS is a thorn in the flesh for small scale mining and prospecting business.

“However all the above-mentioned problems have negatively affected the mining industry big time. The assertion that Zimbabwe is open for business has grossly been affected by bureaucratic systems as mentioned above. There has been inconsistency, double standards, double allocations, and incompetency caused by this bureaucratic choky system. All these problems can be a thing of the past if the ministry of mines supplies adequate vehicles to all mining provinces at least 3 or 4 vehicles per mining province for the purpose of mining inspections and prompt response to mining accidents,” said Mr. Samson Dzingwe, the President of the Zimbabwe Prospectors Association.

He urged the Ministry of mines to ensure that verification of applications is done timeously by adding more staff in provinces that require it.

“The issue of tattered, torn, obscure, or illegible maps must be substituted with clear topo maps or even digital topo maps. Some of the delays are caused by missing or lack of up to date data sources which makes verification processes difficult if not impossible. Thus, data must be captured in a computerised or digital system to improve efficiency and effectiveness in service provision.

“Computers or laptops must be adequate in all mining provinces such that all data is captured: thus the use of individual laptops in mining provinces to capture the ministry of mines or government sacred information is totally unacceptable because it erodes confidentiality of certain sacred information.”

Mr. Dzingwe argued that the closing of prospecting or pegging areas through blanketing or carpeting of speculative E.P.Os must be looked into as it shrinks or extinct small-scale mining businesses whilst promoting speculation of vast mineral lands which is against productivity as everyone knows and it’s on record that artisanal small scale miners are the greatest producers of the yellow metal. Thus anything affecting their operations has got a negative impact on production as witnessed by a drop in deposits to Fidelity Printers though the changes in rates that have also affected the deposits.

“It is a welcome development that fidelity printers are now buying 100 percent of the total gold deposited in United States dollars though it would require the constant building of trust and reengagement with the stakeholders to improve the flow and meet the target of 40tonnes per year set by the government.

“We are also concerned with the ministry of mines silence on the Mines and Minerals Bill of 2015, which was referred back to Parliament by President E.D Mnangagwa in 2018 but until now we have not yet been consulted in as far as that bill is concerned though we are a stakeholder who challenged this bill in parliament in 2018 and 2019 as well. We were disheartened to know that the bill was discussed by other stakeholders in our absence. We wrote to ministry of mines, parliamentary portfolio committee on mines and Attorney general seeking clarity on that issue but till now we are in darkness of what is happening to that bill.”

The association even wrote to ministry of mines in line with this issue but nothing concrete has been heard from them.

“Our greatest concern in that bill is that we had previously been side-lined, not consulted and removed from the amendment text when we are real stakeholders and by right we deserve to be consulted before laws that affect our operations are crafted.it is also my belief that laws are crafted for people concerned through exhaustive consultations.”

The Zimbabwe Prospectors Association (Z.P.A) is encouraging its members to go to school and upgrade themselves to be relevant to the advent of new technology and upgrading of its services to both ministry of mines and its clients.

“Our members have acquired training and certificates’ in Geographical Informatics System, Global NavigationSsystem, and Global Positioning System and Cadastre system at Midlands State University in 2018 and went on to acquire academic Diplomas in Geographical Information Systems and Drone Photogrammetry at ALDN COLLEGE, recently warming up for the coming digital or computerised cadastre system as we are now able to help in the creation of an efficient and effective cadastre system in mining industry. We did not end there. We still have several of our members studying to upgrade their profession and improve their operations as a professional organisation that majors in the real uplifting or upgrading of its members and keeping our members relevant to changes in technology,” Mr. Dzingwe added.

LIST OF APPROVED PROSPECTORS

“We advise the public to engage the above registered professionals of their own choice who are on our list and on Ministry of mines list. The public is advised to only engage our registered members who are both on our and ministry of mines list. The Zimbabwe Prospectors Association is a professional organisation registered with ministry of labour with the role to advocate, upgrade standards of operations,  and offer educational capacitation of Approved Prospectors with the advent of new technology,” Mr. Dzingwe added.