DEPUTY Mines and Mining Development minister Gift Chimanikire (GM) last week tackled various issues concerning the cancellation of special grants in Parliament among other issues following concerns raised by members of Parliament (MPs).
Below is an extract of the debate over mining issues with MPs.
Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya: What policy measures has your ministry put in place to ensure that Essar or the Zisco deal takes off? When are the workers expected to get their salaries since his ministry is involved in that deal?
GM: The Ministry of Mines is responsible for policy on mining. When it comes to issues like exploitation of minerals that are already outside the ground, it is actually the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. So, Essar is a baby of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Therefore, it is not the duty of the Ministry of Mines to prescribe when workers should be paid, when they should resume work and so forth.
Highfield West MP Simon Hove: May you tell this House on the progress your ministry has made in as far as granting those iron ore claims to Essar, if at all you are going to?
GM: Two weeks ago, the issue of Mwenezi claims was in the Supreme Court. The Ministry had actually gazetted that these claims should belong to the government to enable us to appropriate what should be appropriate to Essar. Suffice to note that the ministry succeeded in upholding the fact that they were the proper custodians of the claims in Mwenezi. However, currently there are talks between the ministry and Essar as well as exploration to establish the exact amount of ore that can actually be found in that area.
So we are working jointly with Essar and experts from the ministry to determine exactly what is underground in that area. In terms of appropriating the correct amount of ore, that is an issue still under discussion under the auspices of our Permanent Secretary. The talks are ongoing between us and Essar.
Highfield East MP Pearson Mungofa: How many special grants have been recovered from speculators and if they have been any, are there open for application by the ordinary people?
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GM: In February 2010, 25 special grants were issued for coal in the Hwange basin. As of November 2012, our survey as Ministry has revealed that only three of those special grants have been utilised and reports we have been receiving are such that they are at exploration stages. However, the law does provide that within a period of six months, any benefactor — in terms of special grants award they are awarded by the Office of the President; the benefactors are supposed to submit their returns to indicate to the ministry as to what level of development they will have instituted in various special grants to them. We have since, as a ministry, established that special grants are being held in special quotas for speculative reasons. The day before yesterday, we took a decision as a matter of policy in the ministry that we are going to summon all the benefactors of special grants and ask them to account for what they have done with various special grants. If there has been no development in terms of exploitation of the minerals, which is coal specifically, we are going to repossess all special grants that have not been utilised. There will be an advertisement to re-issue them to new applicants.
Chakari MP Zachariah Ziyambi: On the special grants, does the minister also include the mining claims? This is because certain companies are holding on to 200 or 300 mining claims in the country, when in the same spirit, they deprive people who would like to use those mines for mining purposes; whilst out of the 220, they are using only one mining claim. Is this inclusive in the approach that you want to take?
GM: There is a difference between a special grant and an ordinary claim. Given the impression that the honourable member is talking about other claims; special grants are a prerogative of the President’s Office. However, claims pertaining to other minerals can be granted by ministry officials, specially the commissioners of mines that we have in various regions in the country.
Yes, we are aware that in certain areas, we have absentee mine owners and they have abandoned their operations. It is incumbent upon the commissioners in various regions to advertise on their notice boards, so that members of the public are aware that certain mineral rights have been forfeited. The reason why we have revised the issue of fees is that we have absentee miners who continue to renew their claims by paying annual fees.
This is done in order to discourage massive ownership of claims. If there are any such areas that the Honourable member has such queries, I would invite him to our offices and we will take appropriate action. As far as we are concerned, the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill will be coming to Parliament as a repeal.
We are going to propose for the repealing of the current Mines and Minerals Act and in its place, we are going to bring in a new Bill that will ensure we have a new Mines and Minerals Act. In that new Mines and Minerals Act, it will be a “use it or lose it” situation. If you are not utilising any claims, then you are bound to lose them in terms of the law that Parliament is going to pass in the near future.
Sanyati MP Fungai Chaderopa: There are people with land, but do not have money and are having problems from those people who have mines. That person earns a living from that land but you will find that they will end up losing that land because of the miners who have money. I do not know how you can address this issue so that those with land cannot lose their land to the miners?
GM: If I clearly understood her, she said that those with land are being troubled by those miners who are coming to mine on their land. These people earn a living from their land and they are disturbed by the miners because they keep on digging in their land.
Yes, this happens but the issue is that as Government, the law says that if we realise that there are mineral deposits where you have settled, it might be a farm, a school or a hospital, we have the right to re-locate you by giving you somewhere else to farm or to go and stay. That is what the law says.
If we are requesting that you move from that land to a new area, we need to make sure that we compensate you for the value of your property and your produce on that land. You are not moved without compensation, that is building the house you are going to dwell on and the place you are going to stay; like what was done in Chiadzwa by Mbada and Anjin.
The law says mining shall take precedence, but if you find those who are always digging on someone’s land without the adequate papers that is illegal. That should be reported to the police or you can bring the matter to the attention of the ministry.
That is mostly done by people who do not have the right to be mining in that area.
