By Brighton Ncube

The Matabeleland mining indaba kicks off in Bulawayo at Holiday inn. It was run under the theme”creating shared value in the mining sector through engagement with people , business and government”. The mining indaba is currently underway in Bulawayo. This indaba saw people from across Matabeleland coming together to seek transparency and accountability in the precious stones being mined in Matabeleland.

Speaking at the indaba Mukarisiri  Sibanda from ZELA he raised concerns on the issue of transparency in the mining sector and also highlighted the need for the community to benefit from the extraction of minerals across the region. He further emphasised that among the mines which produce a lot of gold in Matebeland was Howmine  and hence the need for the public to be aware of how the minerals are sold and how the community should benefit.

Many people who attended the Matebeland mining indaba showed enthusiasm were happy about such an event being held in Bulawayo and the community getting the platform to air their views. Addressing at the mining indaba the environment management officer Bhekimpilo Ndlovu spoke of the major problems posed by mining to the environment and how they have manged to work with the community.’ We work with women in Gwanda and hence there is gender equality and most of the problems are caused by illegal gold panners but we have tried to find solutions to curb that”

Speaker after speaker raised concerns on how the public should account their mining leaders on the issue of where the gold and other precious minerals is going to. Other speakers went on to educate people on tax avoidance and tax invasion, this saw many people keen and encouraged to read more on the mining practise in Matabeleland.