Moffat Mungazi
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
ARTISANAL and small-scale miners in Manicaland Province have been called upon to formalise their operations in a bid to improve occupational health and safety issues which most of them do not adhere to.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 50 miners who went through safety training in Mutare last week, Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza who was represented by the director in his office, Mr Terrence Machocho said no life should be lost during mining, and urged miners to preserve the environment where they conduct their business.
The training which was organised by Young Miners Foundation and International Health and Nursing Academy came at time when there is an influx of illegal mining activities especially in gold rich areas such as Odzi and Penhalonga.
“Lately, there has been an increase in mine accidents, and diseases like silicosis causing painful injuries and fatalities to miners and degradation in host communities.
“These accidents and diseases have also affected production in mining, in that in some mines ended up closing down and channel expenses meant for production towards medical bills and funerals.
“We, therefore, continually encourage young miners, our youths who are the vanguard of our economy to formalise and professionalise all mining operations to be safe and responsible in view of upgrading and up scaling to medium-scale mining. Young people contribute above 65 percent of our population, therefore have to fully participate in the mainstream of the economy, thus contributing to national development goals that are underpinned by Vision 2030 of a prosperous and upper middle-income economy.
“Government fully supports the mining sector and initiatives that promote the growth of this sector through promoting safety as well as empowerment of miners,” said Advocate Mugadza.
Young Miners Foundation chief executive officer, Mr Payne Kupfuwa said they are empowering upcoming miners with critical information on health, wellness and mining legislation which will help to grow their businesses.
“As we respond to the surge in accidents and diseases in small-scale mining, we have come up with programmes where we are carrying out a series of trainings in all the provinces. We are encouraging miners to take their work seriously and abide with the statutory provisions on safety.
“We are contributing well in the economy as evidenced by the high number of youths who have ventured into mining. However, the sector is still plagued by safety concerns, environmental degradation and health risks,” said Mr Kupfuwa.
Chairperson of Manicaland Young Miners Foundation, Mr Ngonidzashe Maobvera urged their members to prioritise safety procedures and environmental management.
“Our aim is to reduce occupational health and safety accidents in mines especially among small-scale miners. Most young miners lack knowledge on how to operate properly. Every miner must formalise so that it becomes easier to have a database for monitoring and evaluation. If all miners are empowered with knowledge, there will be reduced cases of mishaps at mines,” said Mr Maobvera.
