A newly-rehabilitated gold mine in the Simona communal area
which is on the border between Mazowe and Bindura is changing the lives of at
least 9 000 villagers after it sponsored the rehabilitation of roads.
The Chinese investors, under the banner of Ming Chang
Sino-Africa Investments Limited (Ming Chang), have already spent over US$100
000 on the first phase of the rehabilitation of a 6km stretch on the main road
linking the mine and the surrounding areas.
The larger part of the first phase involved the part of the
road leading directly to the mine and resurfacing of a derelict gravel road.
The other 4km leads to a nearby shopping centre and clinic.
Commodities trader, Isah Mazwi said the rehabilitation of
the road had seen his business improve.
“We had to hire small trucks or use animal drawn carts to
carry maize and cotton to the tarred road,” Mazwi said.
“We also struggled to get inputs and contract farmers
avoided this area because of the bad roads.”
Ming Chang told our news crew during a tour of the road
works in Bindura last week that work on the remaining stretch was expected to
commence soon.
The company has a number of corporate social responsibility
projects to its name in the areas it operates from.
Ming Chang Sino-Africa recently rehabilitated a 14km gravel
road in Bindura and has painted schools and provided computers and learning
materials in rural communities.
Besides the road in Simona, the company has constructed
roads in various places, including Kwekwe, Masvingo and Shamva.
Ming Chang Sino-Africa spokesperson on the Simona site Link
Yang said the roads had improved accesses to facilities such as hospitals.
“There is a popular Chinese saying which goes like, if you
want to get rich, build a road first. It is correct because people can come in
and out easily and your community has access to health facilities,” Link said.
“They can sell their farm produce and get tourists in areas
where there are attractions,” he added during a tour of the road works on
Monday.
The gold miner is using its own staff and equipment on the
projects while the local authority provides concrete pipes for drainage
systems. Standard
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