FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has ordered newly-appointed Mines and Mining Development permanent secretary Thomas Utete Wushe to investigate and settle disputes affecting small-scale miners, saying the process is riddled with corruption.
Mnangagwa issued the ultimatum while speaking in Chegutu at Magaya Mining Company before thousands of artisanal miners on Tuesday.
Her remarks followed Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya’s complaints about the ministry’s alleged mishandling of mining claims.
“These artisanal miners don’t have any place to mine, but we have areas with gold, with some companies holding them since 1890 while doing nothing,” Rushwaya said, citing inactive claims dating back over a century.
“From Mberengwa to Kariba, there is vast land for gold mining, but the ministry is sitting on several mining paper disputes.”
After the explosive speech, Mnangagwa took to the podium and summoned the Mines secretary to stand beside her.
“You are just new, I understand, but you are now at work,” she thundered.
“In a week you, will be knowing what is happening. There is a lot of work to investigate what you called the provincial mining directors. There is a lot of corruption.
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“I am told you are sitting on crucial papers. This should be addressed and this is not acceptable.”
The Mines ministry has long been dogged by allegations of corruption, with artisanal miners complaining of double allocation of claims and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Disgruntled prospectors have previously petitioned the ministry over directives they claimed were stripping them of their roles, with Zimbabwe Prospectors Union accusing “corrupt Mines ministry officials” of causing disputes through double allocation.
Former Mines minister Winston Chitando raised alarm about gold smuggling while in office, warning that Zimbabwe can be losing up to 40% of potential gold revenue through illicit channels.
He noted that small-scale miners contributed an average of 68% of monthly gold deliveries in early 2025, a sector now wondering whether the new leadership will address the bottlenecks the First Lady has publicly condemned.
