HARARE – MPs on Thursday accused the government of not doing anything to stop illegal gold mining in disused mine shafts which has put Kwekwe town at risk of caving in.
In March, a Globe and Phoenix Primary School classrooms caved in, resulting in 18 pupils being injured.
While it has identified a new site for the school to be relocated, MPs said the government has made no further efforts to address the cause of the problem.
Parliamentarians who are members of the portfolio committee on mines and mining development said the ground beneath Kwekwe town has been known to be at risk of sinking but the government has not done anything about the illegal miners who continue to dig, worsening the situation.
“My worry is we have been hearing all these contributions from government departments; what have they done to resolve these issues? Now there are mining activities along the Harare Road and also along Robert Mugabe Road,” said Kwekwe Central MP Judith Tobaiwa.
Mberengwa East MP Marko Raidza added: “We are not hearing solutions and interventions that they are doing to arrest the situation. We need firm commitment and activities to stop this illegal mining before a big disaster happens.”
Mutasa Central legislator Trevor Saruwaka said there was lack of political will to stop mining in disused gold mines.
“It looks like there is a umbilical cord to this madness. The challenge could be because political heavyweights are involved in the illegal mining activities such that these government departments are failing to rein them in,” he said.
Appearing before the committee, Midlands mining engineer Tapererwa Paskwavaviri said a coordinated approach is required to monitor the conditions of the ground within the mining areas around Kwekwe.
“There is prevalence of sink holes in Kwekwe which resulted in the damage of roads and buildings. At the moment, if you go to the district coordinator’s offices, a number of buildings have large cracks on the walls. The Kwekwe reservoir which is next to Globe and Phoenix is in danger as we speak and our fear is that if illegal mining continues around that area, the water tank can collapse and that will result in a disaster,” Paskwavaviri warned.
“There is danger that the tunnels could be extending towards the CBD (Central Business District).”
Mines and mining development ministry permanent secretary Pfungwa Kunaka said the government is seized with the matter.
“We know that because of mining activity, the ground beneath Kwekwe is now weak,” he told the MPs.
“The March 2023 collapse drew our attention as the entire government. The Kwekwe issue is being treated as an emergency situation. This matter is now at Cabinet level being addressed. On the outlook, it may appear like there is no progress.”
The committee heard that most mining towns are at risk of caving in as a result of the effects of illegal mining being done in decommissioned and disused mines.
