BY VENERANDA LANGA
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines has said its investigations on gold leakages, cartels and machete gangs will begin when Parliament resumes sitting next month.
Committee chairperson and Shurugwi North MP, Edmond Mkaratigwa said they will interrogate the shortcomings of the Gold Trade Act.
“In the process, we are also going to look at the players because these gold leakages are probably being caused by cartels in the gold sector and they could also be the ones involved in the MaShurugwi violence that is causing disturbances in the mining sector,” he said.
Mkaratigwa said the cartels were impeding growth and the possibility of the country getting maximum revenues from gold production. He said the inquiry on gold leakages will be done simultaneously with those of the Gold Trade Act.
“We are also going to look at the value proposition of gold (price) because the pricing has been severely affected by black market trading,” he said.
The Mines Portfolio Committee chairperson said gold mining was a problematic area, especially alluvial mining which is dominated by panners with inadequate experience in mining.
“In alluvial mining, there is a gold rush where various people go there and as a result very serious disputes emanate which end up in violent clashes. Basically these are also people who are not registered and they are difficult to trace and there are also a lot of leakages in the sector. Those are issues that Parliament now wants to investigate,” he said.
Before Parliament adjourned in December, the Mines Committee met the Mines and Mining Development ministry officials to unpack the legal framework on the Gold Trade Act.
Mkaratigwa said the committee will also look at the role of Fidelity Printers and Refineries and that of the Gold Mobilisation Unit.
