SHURUGWI – Government has called upon artisanal miners to get the necessary documentation in order to avoid needless land disputes and violence over mining claims.
Speaking at a meeting with small scale miners in Shurugwi recently, Midlands provincial mining director, Nelson Munyanduri said the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development can only mediate on behalf of miners if they are registered as per the requisite mining legislation.
“The reason why we say you should get title is for us to find a solution in case you are involved in disputes over mining claims. If such disputes are brought to us, we would be in a better position to reconcile you.
“But if you don’t have the necessary documentation to show who the owner of the mine is, then we can’t help you because we wouldn’t know who the rightful owner is. Yes, you may take your disputes to the courts but the courts would simply turn you back to us saying help us with the information of these people so that we can know them, and you would lose money in the process,” said Munyanduri.
He further called upon miners to be registered in order to safeguard their property within the legal and approved terms of the law.
A concerned female artisanal miner said some men were either forcefully or fraudulently seizing mining claims resulting in many unresolved disputes.
“I went to my village head with regards to my father’s land which was taken but the village head told me that the issue was resolved a long time ago. The man who had taken my father’s land then died and I decided to pursue the case once more.
“The late man’s son who was in Harare was then told that the issue was coming up again but instead of coming down so that we could solve it, he went to Mbare and forged papers.
“When I then approached Chief Gonese, he said there were papers which showed that the land rightfully belonged to that other person. People began to mine on my father’s land while I struggled to earn a living,” complained the female miner.business
