PARLIAMENTARY Portfolio Committee on Mines chairperson edmond Mkaratigwa has urged government to expedite amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act.

Mkaratigwa (Shurugwi South MP) said this last Thursday in the National Assembly while presenting a report on the findings of an inquiry conducted by the Mines Portfolio Committee in response to a petition by the Women and Land Zimbabwe on farmer and miner disputes.

He said farmer and miner disputes could be solved through amendments of the Mines and Minerals Act and enactment of a Lands Policy.

“The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should, on a regular basis, monitor performance, compliance to mining laws and operations of mining companies operating nationwide. The environmental Management Agency (ema) must be resourced to enable it to fully carry out its mandate,” Mkaratigwa said.

“The Ministry of Mines should conduct research and come up with a model that will guide and inform the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining in Zimbabwe by December 2021.

“The Ministry of Lands should enact a Land Policy by December 2021; and going forward, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement and the environmental Management Agency should work together to enable the harmonisation of land, mining and environmental laws.”

He said the ministries should coordinate their efforts in order to ensure effective and efficient enforcement of the laws that prohibit illegal mining.

Mkaratigwa said the Mines ministry should always follow what is on site plans when supervising the operations of mining companies as it would address the issues of boundary disputes, adding that it should also undertake research on artisanal mining models for Zimbabwe by December 2021.

“The environmental Management Agency should ensure that the environment impact assessment consultations are made public to deal with the corruption which has become rampant in this area,” he said

The Mines Committee also said eMA should ensure that it does not approve any mining activity on wetlands.