MINES minister Winston Chitando and his Finance counterpart
Mthuli Ncube have been taken to the High Court for failing to implement laws
that guarantee transparency on how the country’s mineral resources are
exploited.
Save Odzi Community
Network Trust (Socnet) cited Chitando, Ncube and Attorney-General Prince
Machaya as respondents in the matter.
They want the government, acting through Chitando and
Ncube, to gazette a Bill in line with Section 315 (2) of the Constitution which
deals with the country’s minerals within 90 days.
That section of the Constitution provides that “an Act of
Parliament must provide for the negotiation and performance of … joint venture
contracts, contracts for the construction and operation of infrastructure and
facilities and concessions of mineral and other rights”.
In an affidavit deposed by Socnet chairperson Zakeu Nhachi,
the Trust said they had been unlawfully deprived of transparency, honesty,
cost-effectiveness and competitiveness in joint venture contracts and
concessions of mineral rights and other rights in the mining sector.
“Zimbabwe is endowed with vast mineral resources yet
regrettably, over the years; the resources have not resulted in any substantial
benefit to the host mining communities. Rather the exploitation of mineral
resources has left a trail of environmental, social and economic ills,” Nhachi
said.
Socnet made reference to the Auditor-General’s report of
December 2018 which pointed out how the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
(ZMDC) had acted inappropriately in relation to its joint venture arrangements.
The court further
heard that in the same report, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe
(MMCZ) could not avail geological maps of areas covering its mining claims.
“Given these circumstances, it is difficult to achieve the
transparency, honesty and cost effectiveness envisioned in section 315 (2) of
the Constitution,” added Nhachi.
“It is my belief that by including section 315 (2) of the
Constitution, the aim was to ensure full realisation of Zimbabwe’s minerals by
the public through a transparent mechanism and culture.”
Socnet argued that the Mines and Minerals Act did not have
a specific provision relating to transparency and made reference to a joint
venture between a multinational company, Alrosa, and ZMDC.
“The only information in the public domain is that Alrosa
gets 70 percent of the proceeds for their development of the intended project,
while ZMDC gets 30 percent. In fact, the deal in its entirety is shrouded in
mystery as though the mineral to be exploited were not a matter of public
importance.” Daily News
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