By Dorcas Rumano

Speaking before the Committee on Mines and Mining Development which deliberated on the budgetary needs of the same Ministry  for 2020 budget today, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Polite Kambamura said Government is working on a number of policy reforms in the mining sector that are favourable for investors.

 “There are policy reforms that are being done by Government that are investor friendly, and for the past two years there has been an influx of investors coming into the country for major projects.

“We have geologists in the provinces and miners can invite them to conduct surveys for free. We are performing well as the Mines Ministry and we have contributed about $1.9 billion to the fiscus,” said the Deputy Minister.

Speaking during the same event, Chairperson of Mines Committee, Mr Edmund Mukaratigwa said the mining sector should be the major contributor of economic development.

 “Economic growth is going to come from the mining sector. Currently there is no growth and the budget should speak to that.

“We need to implement and achieve results as the Mines Committee.  We don’t want to be reduced to a talk show.

“In our mining industry when talking of empowerment we mean the underprivileged who are the artisanal miners, whom the Chief Executive Officer of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), Mr Wellington Takavarasha talked about creating service centres to empower them,” he said.

Officials in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development made a bid of $38.4 million for the 2020 budget which the legislators have called for its increase to be sufficient.