By TellZim Reporter
In a shocking revelation, teachers in the Fusira area of Masvingo South have reportedly joined the ongoing gold rush, engaging in illegal mining activities at night.
Sources close to the matter indicate that the educators from Fusira, Musvovi, and Madzivanyika schools have been embroiled in the ongoing gold rush in Mudemba Village, Ward 27, Masvingo South Constituency, where 17 people have been arrested and taken to court for prospecting without a license.
The move is seen as a symptom of the economic turmoil gripping the country, with many professionals struggling to make ends meet due to poor salaries and limited opportunities.
As the gold rush continues to attract people from all walks of life, sources who spoke to TellZim News said teachers are seen at night and would return to their stations early in the morning for official duty.
“Teachers from surrounding schools have joined the illegal mining, but they come at night and return in the morning,” said the source.
Masvingo South Member of Parliament Tanatsiwa Mukomberi confirmed receiving the reports and urged villagers not to engage in illegal mining while at the same time urging authorities to ensure that locals benefit from natural resources in their area.
“I have received a report of people that have been arrested over illegal mining in Ward 27 where there is a gold rush. Villagers, while they are entitled to the natural resources in their areas, should do the proper procedures and register their claims as required by the government.
“Responsible authorities must also allow locals to benefit from whatever natural resources are in their areas. Each place has its own God-given resources, and so the people in that area must benefit from that. It is not fair to have people that come from afar have entitlement over resources in an area while locals do not benefit anything from it. In this case, the area in which there is a gold rush was allegedly given to someone else who has an EPO. They claimed the area, and nothing was done about it; it becomes a challenge now when there are cases like this as locals look to benefit from such resources,” said Mukomberi.
A number of people have been arrested, with some getting charged to pay fines for minor offenses like transporting some resources related to the area, while others have appeared in court charged with prospecting without a license. Some sources who spoke to this publication said their plea was for responsible authorities to give tribute to the locals in the area for them to benefit and peg a block on which the community can mine.
