PWDs demand equal treatment in Zim’s mining indust...

PWDs demand equal treatment in Zim’s mining industry

Zim Now Writer

People living with disability have pleaded with government for recognition in the Mines and Minerals cat, the broad legal framework governing the operations of the extractive sector, noting that their fight for inclusion in the amendment to the Act have largely been unsuccessful.

Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation Mashonaland West PWDs representative, Moses Marufu said the inclusion of PWDs in the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act remains critical.

Marufu argued that PWDs should be given the same preference as Artisanal and Small Scale miners because they have also been contributing significantly to economic growth.

The PWDs representative said that it is difficult for them to secure mining claims because of the high costs involved, adding that government should give them a waiver to peg claims for a lesser fee and process their papers timely.

‘Our sector has been deeply affected by non-recognition in the Mines and Minerals Act/Bill. There is deliberate exclusion of PWDs in mining. We as PWDs have on several for a demanded this inclusivity in vain. Also, other disabled miners find it difficult to go into mining because of costs like prospecting licence, pegging and waiting for over a year to have registration certificates issued,” Marufu said.

Government is in the process of finalising amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act to ensure the law is aligned to the Constitution as well as address challenges in the sector.

“Government intends to finalise amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act as a matter of urgency. As highlighted by His Excellency, the President during SONA, finalising the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill will be highly prioritized,” Mines and Mining Development Minister, Zhemu Soda said.

The Bill, which is still being crafted was supposed to finalized before the end of the 9th Parliament, but the parliamentary legal committee said the Bill was going to violate the Constitution on many aspects.

When the Bill made its way to the President in 2018, he recommended amendments and this led to fresh consultations and cleaning by the Mines and Mining Development Ministry. The Bill went through scrutiny and paved way for stakeholder consultations countrywide by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines led by Edmund Mkaratigwa.

One of the major weaknesses was that it failed to incorporate community representation, which often led to unsustainable mining practices.

The Bill is also pushing for the recognition of artisanal and small-scale miners, whose operations have hitherto been criminalised, transparency in the licensing regime of mining titles, devolution of the mining sector royalty, equality and equity of mining fees across provinces and local authorities as well as issues to do with environment, health and safety.

Key among these is that the community with the resource must benefit from proceeds of these resources, corporate social responsibility, environmental protection and mine closure plans among others.