By Tendai Matunhu

Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Cde Sthembiso Nyoni hailed women who attended the mining conference held yesterday at the on-going Mining Engineering and Transport Expo (Mine Entra) in Bulawayo.

In a speech read on her behalf by a Mr Gondo, an official from her ministry, Minister Nyoni said, “I am very pleased to be part of the third edition of the Women in Mining Conference. This conference is important because women in the mining sector in Zimbabwe still face major challenges such as lack of investment capital and knowledge on available opportunities.”

Minister Nyoni added that her Ministry had initiated several programmes to empower women miners which include facilitating the establishment of Women in Mining Service centres to provide equipment for hiring out and gold processing services to women miners at affordable fees. She said in 2018 the Ministry managed to fund 28 mining projects through the Women Development Fund. She added that the Ministry was facilitating the establishment of factories and or industries that produce safety health products.

She commended the number of women who are contributing to the mining sector.

“It is gratifying to note that women miners are contributing a fair share of this output despite the numerous challenges they face. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) through Fidelity Printers and Refiners for establishing the $150 million facility of which $20million was set aside for women miners. The onus is upon the women miners to access these funds to increase production,” said Minister Nyoni.

Minister Nyoni highlighted that the expo was an initiative which would yield positive results not just for women but for the families as well, thereby reducing poverty and achieve President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision of making Zimbabwe a middle income economy by 2030.