- Version
- Download 33
- File Size 288 KB
- File Count 1
- Create Date June 16, 2017
- Last Updated November 16, 2021
SENATE HANSARD 13 JUNE 2017 26-60
PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE
Tuesday 13th June, 2017
The Senate met at Half-past Two o’clock p.m.
PRAYERS
(THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE in the Chair)
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE
REGISTRATION FOR ICT TRAINING
THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: I wish to advise all Members of the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus who have not yet been trained in Information, Communication Technology (ICT), to register with Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary secretariat office by Thursday, 15th June, 2017. I really would urge that you do that because it is for your own good. Once you gain that knowledge, you can google on your own and do a lot of research. So, I urge those who have not registered for this course to please do so.
MOTION
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF MEDIA, INFORMATION
AND BROADCASTING SERVICES (HON. SEN. MATHUTHU):
Thank you Madam President. I move that Order of the Day, Number 1 be stood over until the rest of the Orders of the Day have been disposed of.
Motion put and agreed to.
MOTION
FIRST REPORT OF THE THEMATIC COMMITTEE ON
INDIGENISATION AND EMPOWERMENT ON THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE COMMUNITY SHARE OWNERSHIP TRUSTS
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: I move the motion standing in my
name that this House takes note of the First Report of the Thematic
Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment on the Circumstances Surrounding the Non-Establishment of the Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko Districts.
HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: I second.
HON. SEN. TAWENGWA: 1. 0 INTRODUCTION
In 2014, the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and
Empowerment enquired into the operations of the Community Share
Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) and Employee Share Ownership Schemes (ESOS) in order to assess the progress made towards the implementation of these schemes in accordance with the requirements of the indigenisation law. It is during this enquiry that the Committee noted with concern the non-establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko districts, areas that are endowed with natural resources. It is against this background that the Committee resolved to investigate into the issues surrounding the non-establishment of the CSOTs) in these districts. This report is a summary of the
Committee’s findings, observations and recommendations on the same.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the enquiry were:
2.1 To appreciate the mining activities in Mudzi and Mutoko
districts;
2.2 To ascertain how communities are benefiting from the mining activities in the two districts as per the requirements of the indigenisation laws;
2.3 To appreciate challenges that may be hindering the establishment and implementation of the Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko districts.
2.4 To recommend strategies that may enhance the successful achievement of indigenisation and empowerment.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
The Committee received oral evidence, written submissions and conducted fact finding visits to some mining sites in Mudzi and Mutoko
districts.
3.1 Oral Evidence Sessions
3.1.1 Mr. P. Sigauke, the Chief Executive Officer of Mutoko Rural District Council appeared before the Committee on the 19th of March, 2015 to brief the Committee on the mining activities in Mutoko district and the establishment of the CSOT.
3.1.2 Mr. Kutamahufa, the District Administrator appeared before the Committee on the 11th of June, 2015 to also brief the Committee on the mining activities in Mudzi district and the establishment of the
CSOT.
3.1.3 The Deputy Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment, Hon. Tongofa appeared before the Committee on the 18th of June 2015 to explain the progress made towards the launch of Mudzi and Mutoko CSOTs.
3.1.4 The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Professor Gudyanga, briefed the Committee on mining activities in Mudzi and Mutoko districts on the 25th of June, 2015.
3.1.5 The Provincial Minister of Mashonaland East, Retired
Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri, appeared before the Committee to brief the Committee on the endeavours that his office had undertaken to engage mining companies in Mudzi and Mutoko districts on issues relating to the establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts.
3.1.6 In addition, the Committee received written submissions from the witnesses that appeared before it to give oral evidence on circumstances surrounding the non-establishment of the Community
Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko districts.
3.2 Fact Finding Visits
The Committee finally undertook fact finding visits to Natural Stone
Export Company in Mutoko district and Kilwright Mining Company in Mudzi district from 12 to 13 May, 2016 and held meetings with Mutoko and Mudzi Rural District Councils.
4.0 COMMITTEE FINDINGS
4.1 Mining Activities in Mudzi and Mutoko Districts
4.1.1 The commonly panned minerals in Mudzi district are gold, manganese, tantalite and black granite. Illegal gold mining is rampant in Makaha ward where the local communities and other external investors are extracting this mineral without proper documentation. Black Granite quarrying is the main mining activity in Mutoko district.
4.1.2 According to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Mudzi district has 113 registered gold locations while Mutoko has 89. There are eight registered black granite mining locations in Mudzi district while 25 are in Mutoko district.
Mudzi has nine industrial minerals mining locations and Mutoko has 23. The Permanent Secretary further stated that these mines are current but not necessarily active.
4.1.3. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development also indicated that most mines were being forfeited due to the following reasons:
- High charges on levies—a claim of gold costs US$5.00 per hectare while it is US$10.00 per hectare for base metals such as tantalite.
- Lack of technical knowledge on the business; and
- Lack of capital as many people apply for claims with the hope of receiving donor or investor assistance, and when this does not happen many get forfeited.
4.1.4 During the fact finding visit to Mudzi district, the following emerged as issues of concern:
- Communities are not benefiting from the mining activities in the area as there is no tangible development due to the rampant illegal mining activities. This is further compounded by the noncompliance to the requirements of the indigenisation law by the four qualifying companies that are operating in this district.
- Traditional leaders are not involved in the regulation of mining activities by mine owners, yet they are the custodians of the areas in which mining takes place;
- Strangers in search of minerals in the area have gone to the extent of searching for gold in the graveyards, for example
Rwenyi area;
- Indigenous small scale miners also do not remit funds to RDCs
for development levy;
- The Zimbabwe Republic Police has no vehicles to enable them to effectively monitor illegal mining activities in the area;
- There is land degradation and pollution due to the open pits and gullies that are left unattended;
- Kilwright Mine is not functional but is holding on to its claims.
- Resource constraints do not allow the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment to visit the mines in order to verify the status of mining companies; and
- People are moved from their residential area by miners without compensation.
4.1.5 On a positive note, the Committee was informed that plans for the setting up of a legal buying centre for gold in Mudzi district were under way.
4.1.6 In Mutoko, it was revealed that there was no weigh-bridge to verify the tonnage of the black granite. The Rural District Council (RDC) donated land but does not have resources to set up a weigh bridge. Consequently, the RDC relies on the submissions from the
Minerals Marketing Company of Zimbabwe (MMCZ).
4.1.8 The RDC’s only source of income from granite quarrying is through charging a development levy per unit of production as prescribed in the RDC Act. A unit is a thousand tonnes and RDC gets $1.00 as development levy per tonne of production, which is equivalent to the cost of bread. Considering that the lowest selling price per cubic metre is US$430 while the highest price is US$820, the development levy is unacceptably low.
4.1.9 The major activities involved in black granite quarrying include sampling, excavation, stone quality assessment, stone measurement, drilling, blasting, washing, transportation, and finally processing in Harare. Most of these activities can absorb unskilled labour, thereby creating employment opportunities of about 80% of the local people.
4.2 Natural Stone Export Company Mining Operations in
Mutoko District
4.2.1 The Committee toured the Natural Stone Export Company with a view to appreciating its operations and assess its compliance to the requirements of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. Accordingly, the Committee toured the cutting and polishing plant as well as where the extraction of the black granite stone was taking place.
4.2.2 During the tour and meetings held with Mr. Muvuro the Mine Manager, the Committee learnt that Natural Stone Export Company was pegged in 1974 and started operating in 1986. The company extracts black granite stone and has some branches in Mutoko, Karambika,
Shamva, Mupfurudzi Game Park and plans to open a new site in Chidenga to mine Kelly Granite.
4.2.3 The Mine Manager also stated that the granite stone is measured by the controllers at the site and MMCZ also measures the granite to verify its weight and endorses the weight.
4.2.4 The Committee was informed that in 2010 Natural Stone Export Company employed 1 200 workers with more than 40 managers, but now it has 179 workers and only two managers. This was attributed to the high costs of doing business in Zimbabwe. The Mine Manager stated that the ease of doing business is better in other countries compared to Zimbabwe where too many taxes are levied.
4.2.5 The Mine Manager further informed the Committee that high taxation has resulted in the company not being able to compete at par with other countries in the international market leading to low returns for the company.
4.2.6. On value addition and beneficiation to the granite stone, Mr. Muvuro informed the Committee that the company does the cutting and polishing of the stone to make kitchen tops, tiles and tombstones, but these are for the local market only. The finished products are sent to Harare for sale. The Mine Manager also informed the Committee that there is no legislation in place for the weighing of finished products.
4.2.7 On winding up, Mr. Muvuro told the Committee that whenever the company moves people due to its mining activities, it compensates them.
4.3 Kilwright Mining Company Mining Operations in Mudzi
District
4.3.1 The Committee undertook fact finding visit to Kilwright Mining Company with a view to appreciating its operations and assess its compliance to the requirements of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. However, the Committee could not tour the actual mine site as it was a long distance from the offices. Apart from this, the mine site also needed a high terrain vehicle and Members needed to be in appropriate gear to visit the mine. Thus, the Committee held a meeting with Mr.Gerald Mlotshwa who is the mine owner.
4.3.2 During the meeting, Mr. Mlotshwa informed the Committee that he took over the mine from Tantco (Pvt.) Ltd. Company in 2011.
Since then, the mine was under care and maintenance. He further informed the Committee that initially, the mine was run by him and a consortium of foreign investors. The investors were expected to inject US$250 000 in the business, but failed to do so leading to the cancellation of the agreement.
4.3.3 Mr. Mlotshwa stated that a lot of illegal mining activities were taking place at the mine, with about 700 illegal miners in operation. This was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development, and Mr. Mlotshwa. The Zimbabwe Republic
Police moved the illegal miners in 2013.
4.3.4 Mr. Mlotshwa informed the Committee that he had found a potential investor, Kemet Corporation, an American company which is the largest consumer of tantalite in the world. In 2015, Kemet
Corporation signed a deal with Mr. Mlotshwa to buy 4 000 kilograms of tantalite from him per month.
4.3.5 Mr. Mlotshwa further informed the Committee that he had secured funding from banks, which was approved in April 2016. Kemet Corporation funded the mine to the tune of US$300,000 while Mr. Mlotshwa contributed US$200 000. The full operations of the mine were expected to commence in August, 2016.
4.3.6 On compliance to the requirements of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act; Mr. Mlotshwa assured the Committee that he would comply once mining operations commence.
4.4 Status of Kilwright Mining Company as of the First
Quarter of 2017
4.4.1 The Committee further enquired on the status of the
Kilwright Mining Company from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and the following issues brought were to the attention of the Committee by Mr. Tahwa, the Acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry:
4.4.2 Kilwright Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. were the holders of Benson 44 Claims from 2011, unfortunately, the company failed to pay its annual fees since 2012.
4.4.3 The failure to pay inspection fees resulted in the claims being forfeited on 29 April, 2016.
4.4.4 After the forfeiture, the ground became open for pegging and prospecting, resulting in Lamblight Syndicate applying for the same mining claim and were given title.
4.4.5 Kilwright Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. however, challenged the forfeiture and has since taken the matter to the High Court of Zimbabwe (Case number 6817/16). The Ministry was still awaiting the High Court ruling. Upon being requested by the Committee to give an update concerning the status of his company, Mr. Mlotshwa confirmed this position. Thus, the Committee could not further pursue the matter as it was still before the courts at the time of finalising this report.
4.5 Establishment of the Community Share Ownership Trusts in Mudzi and Mutoko Districts
4.5.1 The Deed of Trust for Mudzi district was produced in 2010.
The CSOT is in place with Chief Chikwizo chairing the Committee.
However, there is no compliance to the requirements of the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act from any company operating in this district. Charter Explorations and Vee Tee mine which were the qualifying companies were no longer functional.
4.5.2 Mutoko district was asked to come up with the first CSOT in Zimbabwe in 2010 as a pilot programme. The deed of trust was submitted on the 24th of November 2010. Trust accounts were opened with the Agribank and the Metropolitan Bank on 22nd February, 2013 in anticipation of seed money. Sadly, this remains a pipe dream as the CSOT was never launched.
4.5.3 There are six qualifying businesses in Mutoko district. Of
this number, only three have contributed towards the seed capital of the
CSOT- that is Natural Stone Export Company, Southern Granite and Zimbabwe International Quarries.
4.5.4 The establishment of the Mutoko CSOT was faced with challenges that include reluctance by the mining companies to make financial contributions to this indigenisation programme with the view that royalties that they pay to the Central Government should be channeled back to the affected communities.
4.5.5. Furthermore, the qualifying companies do not honour their pledges as these are not legally enforceable. This has resulted in most companies pledging what they think they can afford and being complacent in complying with what they would have pledged. Mr. Sigauke of Mutoko RDC further stated that in most cases, the companies cite operational challenges as the major factor constraining their ability to honour the pledges. During the fact finding visit and a meeting held at Mutoko Rural District Council, it was revealed that Natural Stone Export Company supports the CSOT and had given US$24 000 for the launch of the CSOT.
4.5.6 The Committee learnt from the Deputy Minister of the
Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment that the Mudzi and Mutoko CSOTs were to be launched at the provincial level and not at district level as is the case with some established CSOTs. It was further stated that plans for the official launching were at an advanced stage. He, however, could not give the exact date of the official launching, stating that the Ministry wanted to have tangible projects before His Excellency; President R.G Mugabe could officially launch them. The Committee was informed that work was in progress to ensure that communities in these districts benefit from their natural resources. These were the same sentiments that were echoed by the Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province, Hon. Rtd. Brigadier
General Ambrose S. Mutinhiri when he appeared before the Committee. 4.5.7 Another issue of concern is that the Mutoko CSOT does not have a share certificate which enables it to sit on the qualifying company board in order to be abreast with developments and what is accruing to the companies.
4.6 Corporate Social Responsibility
4.6.1 Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by granite mining companies contribute immensely to the development of communities in Mutoko district. However, there is lack of coordination of programmes and projects and the RDC is not notified. The following are some of the products of the corporate social responsibility given to the communities by these companies:
- A classroom block by Ilford Services Group at Gurure
Secondary School;
- A clinic in ward 5 by Zimbabwe International Quarrying and
CRG Quarries (Pvt.) Limited in ward 5;
- A school block and toilets at Kowo primary School;
- A cattle dipping facility constructed in the Charehwa area;
- Provision of transport to take ill villagers to Mutoko General
Hospital; and
- Donations to national events such as Independence Day celebrations.
4.6.2 During the fact finding visit to the Natural Stone Export Company mining site, it was revealed that this company contributes the following on corporate social responsibility:
- Rehabilitation and construction of four schools in Makochera area;
- A borehole at Makochera Primary School—the Committee had an opportunity to visit this school;
- Supporting the education of the intelligent but economically disadvantaged children in the community, e.g Tryness Mazowe who is now at the University of Zimbabwe;
- Gives 200 litres of diesel to each of the five chiefs in the area per month to help them visit their people;
- The District Administrator is also given fuel as well as giving support during national events.
5.0 COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Observation
5.1 The Committee noted that the non-establishment of Mudzi Community Share Ownership Trust is a result of the non-functional status of Charter Explorations and Vee Tee mines which were the qualifying companies when the deed of trust was registered.
The Committee also noted that the lack of a legal enforcement instrument for companies to honour their pledges and contribute to seed capital resulted in the non-compliance by the qualifying companies both in Mudzi and Mutoko districts, hence the failure to launch the CSOTs at the provincial level.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 1/2017
The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment must immediately review the Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Act to include a requirement of a minimum of
25% of the amount pledged by the qualifying companies towards the seed capital of the Community Share Ownership Trusts; and to provide for the application of punitive measures to those who fail to meet the requirements by December, 2017.
Observation
5.2 The Committee noted that there are delays in the processing of legally binding documents that ensures the attainment of the 10% shareholding by Mutoko Community Share Ownership Trust due to the non-availability of the mine directors or shareholders as they are always outside the country.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 2/2017
Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment must expedite the processing of subscription agreement documents to ensure the attainment of the 10% shareholding by the Community Share Ownership Trusts by giving timelines to the owners on which these documents should be finalized by December, 2017.
Observation
5.3 The Committee noted that lack of a conducive environment for ease of doing business in Zimbabwe is a bottleneck to the economic growth of the country and defeats the implementation of the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 3/2017
There is need for a concerted effort in all sectors of the economy to improve ease of doing business by putting in place the requisite internationally acceptable sub-indices of ease of doing business such as rationalising taxes, providing electricity, protecting investors and speedy processing of documents on starting a business among others by
September, 2017.
Observation
5.4 The Committee noted that there is no harmonisation of responsibilities of key institutions (Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development, the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment and local authorities, particularly the RDCs.) in mining and indigenisation sectors.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 4/2017
Government should ensure that there is harmonization of key responsibilities by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment and the RDCs by December, 2017.
Observation
5.5 The Committee noted that the Mines and Minerals Act has no provision of community benefits and participation in mining activities within their communities.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 5/2017
The Mines and Mineral Act should be amended to include a provision for community benefits and participation in mining activities in their areas during the consideration of the current Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill in Parliament.
Observation
5.6 The Committee noted that the levy collected by the RDCs is too low.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 6/2017
The levy should be calculated as an agreed percentage between the RDC and the mining companies, of what is extracted from their areas of jurisdiction by September, 2017.
Observation
5.8 The Committee noted that the Mines and Minerals Act does not provide for compensation to the people who would have been moved from their areas of residence or have their farms taken for the purposes of mining.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 8/2017
The Mines and Minerals Act should be amended to include a provision for compensation to the affected communities when it is finally passed into law in Parliament.
Observation
5.9 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development slept on duty when it delayed to forfeit the block claims of Mr. Mlotshwa resulting in him holding on to them for five (5) years without producing anything that contributed to Government revenue and to the CSOT.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 9/2017
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development must timeously forfeit mining claims upon failure by the owners to make the annual inspection fees payments and open the ground for other potential companies by July, 2017.
Observation
5.10 The Committee noted that small scale miners are not served with formal written notification of forfeiture of their claims by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development as they are displayed at the provincial offices.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 10/2017
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should come up with sensitization strategies by September 2017, to conscientise the small scale miners to embrace the practice of visiting the provincial offices regularly to check on the status of their claims.
Observation
5.11 The Committee noted that the absence of the weigh bridges in Mutoko and Mudzi districts made it difficult for the Rural District Councils to know the actual weight of the black granite stone to enable them claim for an upward review of the levies that they charge.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment
Recommendation 11/2017
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should ensure that weighbridges are built in Mutoko, Mudzi and across the country where mining activities are taking place for appropriate measurement of the minerals that are extracted in mining areas by December, 2017.
Observation
5.12 The Committee noted that there is massive environmental degradation caused by mining in these districts yet communities are not benefiting from theses mining activities. Environmental degradation comes as a result of quarrying, dumping of the large black granite boulders everywhere, pollution and unsustainable clearing of vegetation to pave way for quarry extraction and, to construct roads resulting in serious deforestation.
The Committee also noted that most of the roads are for use by the quarrying companies while villagers benefit only by chance by virtue of being near them and that roads that lead to schools or clinics are not constructed. It was further noted that the use of heavy machinery such as graders, front-end loaders, and heavy trucks, contribute to the rapid deterioration of roads.
Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment Recommendation 12/2017
The Committee therefore, recommends that the Environmental
Management Agency (EMA) ensures that there is immediate removal of the black granite boulders to clear the environment and that it be mandatory for the mining companies to practice reforestation in areas that they would have cleared off vegetation.
The Committee further recommends that Government ensures that the mining companies also develop the areas that they would be operating in by constructing roads that lead to schools and clinics by
December, 2017. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIEF DANDAWA: Thank you Madam President
for affording me this opportunity to second the report tabled by Hon. Sen. Tawengwa. Briefly, let me confirm that when the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment started moving around looking at what was happening in Mudzi, amongst the people who started giving evidence was the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural District Council who gave us an overview of what was happening. Then came the Deputy Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment who was saying almost the same thing. Then we met with Mr. Gudyanga, the Permanent Secretary of Mines and Mining Development and also the Provincial Minister who were all saying the same thing.
Even during the Committee’s investigations on the types of minerals that were mined there, which include gold, tantalite and black granite. We discovered that in Makaha ward there were illegal miners who are depriving the local community from benefiting. In Mudzi there are about 113 registered gold mining companies, 89 in Mutoko and eight were mining black granite. In Mudzi 25 companies were mining black granite. Many companies there were not able to progress due to the following reasons. The charges were prohibitive, hence people who were supposed to engage in the mining could not afford to do so and were also not knowledgeable. It was a question of lack of cash for the majority and the Committee also realised that the local communities were not benefiting anything from the companies that are operating in their areas. The chiefs are excluded in the mining programmes of precious stones. The police were also bemoaning their lack of adequate transportation to move around.
The Committee also realised that there was need for a nearby centre where miners can sell their minerals. When they sell, they do not know how much minerals they are selling as there is no weigh bridge.
There were a lot of other activities during the mining of the black granite - like blasting, drilling and processing of the minerals. Without wasting much time, I will end here because Hon. Sen. Tawengwa mentioned most of the activities. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: Thank you Mr. President. I just want to add my voice on this report that was tabled before this august Senate by Hon. Sen. Tawengwa, seconded by Hon. Sen. Chief Dandawa.
Mr. President, this is a very crucial report, taking into consideration that there is no establishment of the community share ownership trusts. I do not want just to talk about Mudzi and Mutoko because there is need in every area where there are ongoing mining activities for the people to benefit. You will find that we are always bemoaning the lack of sufficient schools and clinics in the communal areas, of which if at all they had these schemes, they would be constructing some of these clinics and schools. Due to lack of these community share ownership trusts, there is no development in our own areas yet a lot of mining is taking place there.
Mr. President, I also listened very well when they were presenting their report, particularly in the two areas that they visited. They discovered that there was no involvement of the chiefs, if we all recall that chiefs are the custodians of the land - then why should they be left behind? How are they now going to supervise the land that they are supposed to take care of? I think there is much need on that issue. Also during their report, they cited a lot of land degradation which is a very thorny issue as most of these disused mines are left open and a lot of degradation is taking place. This is now a trap for our livestock as well as people because when holes are left like that, some of them will not be very deep, as a result when people walk at night and even during the day - or grazing livestock, fall into these pits and die.
I think there should be a policy on this issue to protect the people and EMA should be in the forefront. When a policy is enacted, it means the perpetrators have to be fined. There has to be a sentence for these people who leave holes unattended to. Apart from that, you will find that they use chemicals when they are operating and sometimes in these holes, there will be water that would have been left there with the residue of those chemicals which are very poisonous to people as well as livestock. So, there is really need for something to be done.
Mr. President, I felt that I should just contribute to this report because it is not about Mudzi and Mutoko only but where there is mining, these things are there. As Legislators, we have to put our heads together and find means of how we can minimise the degradation of the land because we have to leave a legacy for our children and not to leave such holes with cyanide and so forth. If we leave them like that, they will curse us in our own graves saying that we did not leave a good legacy for them. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: Thank you very much Mr. President. I
have stood up to add a few words to the motion raised by Hon. Sen.
Tawengwa about the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment. In fact, the very notion of indigenisation is highly supported by everybody. It is so beneficial because it creates employment to people who endeavor to explore in that land but the issue where the communities do not benefit out of these processes is very disturbing. In the report, it was mentioned that there is no provision of community benefit and the participation in the mining activities. Now, that shows exactly from the onset that these people who are supposed to benefit in communities, sometimes suffer a lot of problems as a result of these mining explorations.
Mr. President, the area where there is vast degradation of land, it is not only in the mining sector alone but I noticed that even in the area of Seke where sometimes people dig this particular soil which they use for building purposes. There are holes everywhere and these particular holes are dangerous to animals, especially in the mining areas, there is quite a number of destruction cases that we notice cattle falling in these deep holes, water becoming so much poisonous to the extent that it will not be safe to drink by those animals. As a result, they get contaminated and again those people who own them lose their cattle because of those explorations. It is also mentioned that the Mines and Minerals Act has no provision for compensation of people moved from those particular mining areas.
Mr. President, people want to live their lives and again they depend on areas that they would have developed themselves. It is not easy to move a person from an area which one feels has developed for quite some time and there is no total regard in terms of expected compensation. Those areas must be looked at very seriously because the person who wins is the miner himself but those who live in those areas tend to suffer as a result of that. Those are issues that this august House has to look into very seriously because people need to be protected from these particular things. There is also pollution that was mentioned and the roads are so bad, they have totally deteriorated.
Again, there is deforestation, there is a lot of evidence that wherever these miners go, there is a lot of cutting down of trees and as a result, they do not seem to care to even plant other trees as a substitute measure.
Mr. President, those are areas which are so much worrisome. It appears also economically that there is little benefit out of that because they sell that gold to other people not to Fidelity as is expected because they would have found, perhaps a little one but want to have huge profits out of very small proceeds.
I would like to concur with the last recommendation that was made that at least those miners must take upon themselves to repair the roads that they would have damaged so that at least that is another contribution to the community. I have also heard that the contribution that they do to the communities is in the tune of a $1 which is almost the cost of one loaf of bread.
Mr. President, this report needs to be looked at diligently and make recommendations to it and adopt those recommendations in this House so that we sort of redirect these people to force them to contribute to the communities that are suffering as a result of that. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. MAVHUNGA: Thank you Mr. President for giving
me the opportunity to support the report which was tabled by Hon. Tawengwa, which is about the unavailability of Community Share Ownership Trust in Mudzi and Mutoko District. I think that the Community Share Ownership Trust is the only way that will make surrounding people to benefit from the minerals that are in their areas. It will not be fair for them not to benefit from that because they are the ones being affected by dust, diseases, degradation of land, deforestation and they also have their roads damaged when these people are engaged in their mining activities. So, I would like to thank this Committee which went to investigate and got recommendations on ways to resolve
that.
The challenges that were noted are that the miners who were supposed to pay as qualifying companies are not meeting their obligations because they just pledge and do not fulfill. So, we applaud what the Committee has brought that whenever they make pledges, they should be forced to pay 25% there and there. If they come up with a payment plan, at least the people would have something because most of these miners are just pledging and they do not honour up. We have seen it even from the areas where we come from because there is no law that enforces them to pay the pledges. Community Share Ownership Trust has 10% on the mines but there is no documentation which supports that. So, the Committee is just saying that the processing of that document should be expedited. For people to know that we should have 10%, you should be sitting in the board meetings so that you know the work that has been done in order for you to get 10%. That is what the Committee is saying and we support that and what the Committee is saying is clear.
It is true that as a country, we cannot survive when people, for years have been mining these stones. We see them from Mt. Darwin. There is no weigh bridge in Mutoko and what are we doing? I think there should be weigh bridges everywhere so that we know the amount of minerals that are being exported from this country. Just imagine a Council getting a dollar out of every mine, because a dollar is worth a lot of bread, but it is not even a loaf of bread because you need transport to go and buy a loaf of bread. That tonne is just that people are saying that it is a tonne because there is no weigh bridge. We want all this to be looked at and we have to look at our laws so that people will benefit from the minerals in their areas.
We also heard that districts are not supposed to launch Community Ownership Trusts because it is done from the provincial level. But, we want to say that the province should expedite that so that people will not congregate at district level but as a province. This means that the people in Mutoko and Mudzi are being short-changed because the province is taking too long to come up with the Community Share Ownership
Trusts. We just say all the recommendations should be implemented.
Turning to the Ministry of Mines, they are also doing something and the youth are not aware of what is happening. I think they should be transparent and they should all be looked at from one point when it comes to indigenisation. If it is not clear, investors will not come in. There should be harmonisation which we support. With these few words, we want to thank the Committee for the work that they have done. Thank you.
HON. SEN. MAKONE: Thank you very much Mr. President. I
would like to thank Hon. Sen. Tawengwa for the report that he has just delivered to the House. This is why some of us end up being labelled as sell outs when we refuse to acknowledge some of these activities which, when they come, they are meant to benefit the society. By and large, they never do in the end and it is clear that they benefit no more than one or two people, and not even people in the area where the projects are launched, but away from the areas.
We are not taken seriously when we debate these things. When we debate something like this Mr. President, I would have liked the Minister of Mines to be sitting here listening to what the Hon. Senators are saying, the concerns that we have because there is no amount of talking that we will do in here that will result in a change of any kind unless the person who is going to institute the change is here. I do not honestly believe that he is going to bother to take the Hansard from the Senate, read it and implement it. I do not think that it is going to happen.
Mr. President Sir, the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe will continue to be lip service, unless we take our work seriously and hold to account those in the Executive that are supposed to implement. The things that have been pointed out by the Senators are all correct and I am sure that this is not the first time that they have been mentioned in this House or outside this House. We will continue to mourn and cry but nothing is going to change. Things will only change if there is a mechanism by which we hold the people responsible to account for what they are supposed to do.
It is a pity Mr. President Sir. I come from Mashonaland East and this is where Mutoko is and this is where the granite is taken from to Italy and to other places. I can tell you that is where you find the poorest of the poor people in Zimbabwe. We have got holes everywhere. Our mountains are half removed. They never ever come back to do any repairs and they do not come back to look at the roads that they have been using for cutting away these mega tonnes that they take to Europe with them and nothing is done about it. Surely, there must be somebody who is benefitting from that, otherwise somebody would have been stopped a long time ago and we would like to know who in the end is benefiting.
Mr. President Sir, would the Government be happy to see the people of Mutoko sitting on the roads making sure that those vehicles cannot pass carrying the materials, the ores that they take away from our area. I am sure if we were to organise something like that, the first thing that will be sent are the police to arrest the people. Suddenly, something will start happening because now, money cannot flow out so that it can flow into someone’s account. We have to make decisions in here that will result in action being taken. Talking nonstop is not going to help us.
With those words, I want to thank you Mr. President Sir.
*HON. SEN. MALULEKE: Thank you Mr. President for giving
me this opportunity to make my contribution on the report given by the Committee which has been represented by Hon. Sen. Tawengwa. It is true that we may not beat our chest and boast that we are Government and yet we are not benefitting from the natural resources which are in our country. We should also be able to tell the quantities of the mineral ores which are taken out of the districts and out of the country. We have 30 tonnes - lorries which will be taking out the ore. We are pleading with the Government that they should acquire lots of weigh bridges. If they are saying they cannot erect these weigh bridges on our roads, they should utilise the facilities from the Grain Marketing Board because the Grain Marketing Board has enough weigh bridges and at times they are
idle.
I am saying this because we can soon be impoverished because of our minerals going out. As a result, we would like to invite the Ministry of Mines to attend one of our deliberations so that he will be in a position to understand what we are talking about so that he may formulate policies which are according to the needs of the people. When we talk of the Minister, we are talking of an official who drafts policy according to the needs of the country. We have had some researches which have been done by some Committees like when we talk of the Community Share Trusts, we were informed that the Chairperson of that Committee is a traditional chief and the other Members include Hon. Sen. Chief Nyamukoho and yet he has been telling this House that he is not aware of the production levels of some of these minerals and ores which are being dug out. We need to put in place some mechanisms which can assist in harnessing the value of these ores because for all, we know the miners are exporting the ore and we remain impoverished.
When the Committee made the fact finding visit, we praised them because we say it is step one. Why do I call it step one - that was the first stop which they held their investigations but Zimbabwe is a very big country and is endowed with a lot of minerals. We need to hold such investigations by the Committee so that we can harness and benefit from our rich natural resources especially minerals.
I am now urging the Government to do some deliberate policies to include some women in some of these programmes because women are very responsible and they will really play that oversight role in checking on the extraction, production and exporting of minerals. That is why we are calling for the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to be present in this House and listen to our debates. I thank you Mr.
President.
*HON. SEN. CHIFAMBA: Thank you Mr. President. I thank
Hon. Sen. Tawengwa who raised this motion talking about the minerals in Zimbabwe. When you do not visit these areas where mining is taking place, you are not very much touched because you cannot visualise what is going on. These miners visit and prospect at different areas and they will mine at any other place. If they feel that the ore is not the quality which they want, they simply leave it but when that mineral is brought into the market, it fetches a lot of monies.
When these minerals are exported they benefit us a lot. We have also realised that in the value addition some of these minerals especially these rocks which are being mined in Mashonaland East are manufactured into floor tiles but they are so expensive that you cannot afford them. Even when they are exported and brought back into this country they will be so expensive that the ordinary person in Zimbabwe cannot afford them. One may be forgiven to think that these minerals are mined in South Africa or in some other countries overseas. That is why we are calling for the Minister of Mines and Mining to visit the countryside and inspect all the mines including the gold mines.
Zimbabwe is rich in natural resources such as gold and granite. I have been observing this since year 2000 and I recognised these mining companies extracting the rocks from these areas and exporting them. We need to embark on value addition because these products which manufactured may include tombstones and we need to know what is going on. I am pleading with the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to go on a tour to inspect these minerals and look at how our natural resources are being utilised because Zimbabwe as a country, we are so disadvantaged that we will not benefit from the mineral mines.
I thank you.
+HON. SEN. MASUKU: Thank you Mr. President. I would like
to put a few words on this report which has been tabled about
Community Share Trusts which are not being enjoyed by Zimbabweans.
There is an old Ndebele saying which goes, “the riches of a fool are eaten by those who are wise”. That is important when I am looking at this report. I see that at places where these Community Share Ownership Schemes are people have developed in those areas. Schools have been built, clinics have been built and the women and youth are also involved in projects. If there was nothing in that community that would enable a community share scheme to begin, it is because there are a few resources. Why should those few resources be made available to the people of Mutoko. Even if it is little, they should enjoy that because it is theirs. It is not for foreigners.
I see in many places there are many things that are hidden from the Zimbabweans so that they remain poor while others are getting richer. Mr. President, I will say it because this portfolio has had quite a number of different ministers and we have observed that there is a particular place which has a lot of wealth such as stones which they were given abundantly by the Lord in their area but the people from the community are not getting anything there. Those people who are mining there, their licences should be cancelled if the people are not getting anything.
People from Mutoko can come up as a group, take over the mines and work on them so that the things are done in a proper manner through various fora.
I would like to agree with many Hon. Senators that have spoken here that, that is end of the story and nothing happens. I do not know whether what we debate is not heard or is not of quality but Hon. Senators here are representatives of the people out there. If they debate here, they do not only say their opinions but they say what they will have heard from their constituencies – challenges being faced by their people; opinions for people they represent. If we bring such things here and there is no feedback that we have heard your issues, we have taken your matter to Parliament - what is the answer? What is going on concerning that?
It is important that when you debate such important matters, responsible Ministers should be there so that they can hear what the needs of the people are so that they can work it out. It is not good Mr. President that after 37 years people sitting on top of wealth which can develop their lives, you find they are still poor and continue to be poor.
People want to be heard so that they realise what is theirs.
It is happening in various areas where there are resources which are being mined. Where there are trees for making furniture, you find that the people who stay there do not realise much from the trees. It does not help the people of Zimbabwe, but it is taken out of the country and we say Zimbabwe is a country which is underdeveloped. Zimbabwe has a lot of riches and resources which are given abundantly by the Lord. With these resources that were given to Zimbabwe in various places, Zimbabwe should be a rich country but many countries are far much richer than Zimbabwe. As a result of our wealth and resources, we are being suppressed. They take our resources.
What I would like to say is that we are now independent. Are we still being suppressed 37 years after independence? Who is suppressing us? It is like just standing in water but you are thirsty. We have a lot of resources but we are poor. That is the truth which is there in Mutoko.
They have the resources they were given by the Lord but they are poor. Why is it like that? Since the report has been tabled here, for it to pass through without getting a proper answer is not good. I am not saying that people should not make it pass but it is important that this august Senate should hear from the Minister, whether he has heard about these or not. The Minister should hear the challenges and queries that are being raised by the people and inform the House of the steps or measures he is taking so as to address issues of the people of Mutoko so that they can access their resources. With these few words Mr. President, I am saying if this debate comes to an end after the report, action should be taken. I thank you.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: Thank you Mr. President. I thank
Hon. Sen. Tawengwa for this report supported by Hon. Sen. Chief Dandawa. You have given us an insight on what is happening on our minerals in Zimbabwe on the extraction and selling. We also thank the Committee for this eye opener which you did in your investigation, especially on the operations of the Community Share Ownership Trust. What really surprises me is that we were informed that in Mudzi District, there are 113 mining companies and we ask ourselves what these companies are doing in the Mutoko and Mudzi area. This shows us that as Zimbabweans we have some problems whereby we ignore some of these problems when they are coming in.
THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE (HON.
SEN. TAWENGWA): Just to correct you, they are not 113 companies but mines.
*HON. SEN. CHIMBUDZI: I am talking about 113 registered mines. We were informed that the Community Share Ownership Trust is shared by the chief in the area and this creates animosity between the chief and the community because they will think that the chief is corrupt and is benefiting. Again, the chief may be held responsible for the problems which may be occurring. At times, this may lead to lack of respect from his subjects because when he is chairing such an organisation, he also expects to get some benefits from the extraction of minerals. This is in our Statutory Instruments and that is why it was said the chiefs or traditional leaders should be in the forefront of such functions.
We have also noticed that in Zimbabwe, according to our culture, we have some sacred places which should not be disturbed. However, we have realised that in some areas in our country, mining programmes have dishonoured these sacred places. What is really sad about these mining programmes is that the people in those areas do not benefit because the minerals production is shipped out of the district and maybe out of the country.
We also noticed that even the police have no power to arrest the perpetrators of such heinous crimes because they should also be benefiting through the supply of transport so that they can move and maintain law and order in the mining area. The mining companies do not care about the police. They will only think about the police if they have problems such as fights or some cheating in the finances. We are saying the Community Share Ownership Trusts were meant to benefit locals so that they get enough food; schools and clinics are built and roads are maintained. These areas which may have been lagging behind in development should be developing now because of these minerals which are extracted in their areas.
I am asking and begging the Minister of Mines and Mining Development and the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment to come and listen to the debates. This is because we are not talking about a soccer match between Zimbabwe and Liberia, which is just a game but we are talking of life savings and the social service of the people of Zimbabwe and their welfare. When you look at these places, we only have a few people, maybe two people who are benefiting. Therefore, I am calling for this Committee to move around the country and make thorough inspection on the programmes of these mining projects so that we are able to identify the source of the problems. Everybody wants to benefit from mining and as Members of Parliament, we also need to benefit from these programmes. We are aware that our Parliament is unable to function properly due to lack of funds.
Let us utilise our mineral resources hence we need respective ministers to monitor the indigenisation, small enterprises and mining programmes. We do not have to be competing, we are saying let us scrutinise and monitor so that we empower the communities because we are now into problems due to land degradation and destruction of our rivers through siltation of dams. These places have been mined since
2010 hence the insurmountable destruction and a lot of disadvantages. When these mining companies finish extracting the desired minerals, they should restore the land to its former state and fill up all the holes.
I call upon this august Senate to hold these mining companies to account. As Members of Parliament, we have moved from our homes to come and debate, so we should be safeguarding the wealth of our country. Very few people are benefiting from these mineral ventures yet most of the blame is placed on artisanal miners. I thank this Committee for the thorough investigations that it carried out on the mining activities in this country. When we heard of the functions and modus operandi of the Community Ownership Share Trusts, we were very happy and elated because we thought the programme would lead to the development of districts, provinces and communities - but it has come to naught.
Therefore, let us not drag our traditional leaders into this mud simply because Hon. Sen. Chief Nyamukoho chaired this meeting yet the district did not benefit. The people will be blaming the chief for presiding over a self-destructive organisation. When we encounter natural disasters like what happened in Tsholotsho, the chiefs stay with the people are supportive. All these people who are responsible for the extractions are benefiting yet they do not support the communities. When these people embark on their programmes, they appeal to the chiefs and the police. We need to look at the programmes that are on ground. I also noticed in some instances during the process of ferrying these stones to the intended destinations. These huge rocks are left by the roadside without removing them timeously and this creates traffic jams and hazards on our roads.
This Committee should be empowered to move around the country and make thorough investigations and recommendations to the country.
We need to disempower these Community Ownership Share Trusts as they are creating animosity between the Members of Parliament, local communities and the extractors. People were informed Community Ownership Share Trusts would bring about benefits and development in the areas where extraction would be taking place yet we have nothing to show for it. The Community Ownership Share Trusts should finance the implementation of parliamentary programmes.
HON. SEN. CHIMHINI: Thank you Mr. President, I wish to add my voice on the motion that we are debating in this august Senate. The first point is that we are to blame as parliamentarians because when we were writing the Constitution, we all agreed that people who have certain resources in particular areas must benefit. When we came to the issue of devolution, we were the first people to argue and said we did not need devolution at this stage. – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – Had we accepted that there was something to benefit from devolution then we would be having locals demanding what is rightfully theirs. We are now complaining that a lot is happening in our areas and we are not benefitting yet if we had maintained what we put in the Constitution, definitely we would not be complaining today.
The second issue is who initiated the Community Ownership Share Trusts? Was it Government, if it is Government, why then did we fail to make sure that we implement? You would get a company coming and saying, yes we are going to give $10 million. There is a very specific example from Manicaland in Chiadzwa and we know very well that we got nothing from that. The question we then ask is what happened? We know Portfolio Committees have tried to investigate and it died a natural death as we did not get any answer as to what happened to the Community Ownership Share Trusts that were supposed to have benefited communities. All I am saying is that once we come up with a policy, let us implement it. I do not believe that as Government we have failed to make sure that those schemes work and benefit communities.
In terms of this debate, I am calling on the Government to revisit whether these schemes are working and if they are not, what is happening and who is responsible? What has happened? I do not want to speculate on the fact that certain people are benefiting, but my question is why has Government not taken it upon itself to make sure that people benefit in the communities? We know exactly what these schemes should have done. We know very well that there are certain people who may be benefiting and this is why Government is not taking it upon itself to ensure that they enforce or it enforces the Community Ownership Share Trusts to be operational.
Mr. President, there is every justification at this stage to take stock of what we have in the various provinces. Once we identify what we have, let us check whether people are benefiting. Let us not just talk about indigenisation when we cannot enforce the laws we come up with. We do not want to come up with policies that just end up as policy issues that are on paper and kept by an individual rather than everybody knowing what people have to benefit from. It is our responsibility to now start demanding what people should benefit from. I think this is a very good example from the report we received this afternoon that something has to be done. It should not just end as a debate but practically Government should be called upon to bring people to account and this is the time to do it. I thank you.
HON. SEN. MASUKU: Mr. President, I move that the debate do now adjourn.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2017.
MOTION
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH: DEBATE ON ADRESS
Third Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the Presidential Speech.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. NYAMBUYA: I move that the debate do now
adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 20th June, 2017.
MOTION
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE
PRESIDENT
Fourth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion in reply to the
State of the Nation Address.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. CHIPANGA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MAKORE: I second.
Motion put and agreed.
Debate to resume: Tuesday, 20th June, 2017.
MOTION
MEASURES TO CURB VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY
POLITICAL PARTIES
Fifth Order read: Adjourned debate on motion on violence that had become a socio-political way of life among the people of Zimbabwe.
Question again proposed.
HON. SEN. B. SIBANDA: I move that the debate do now adjourn.
HON. SEN. MOHADI: I second.
Motion put and agreed to.
Debate to resume: Wednesday, 14th June, 2017.
On the motion of HON. SEN. MASUKU seconded by HON. SEN. MOHADI, the Senate adjourned at Five minutes past Four o’clock p.m.