Residents in the gold-rich town of Kwekwe are living in constant fear as artisanal miners continue to burrow underground tunnels and destroy critical infrastructure in search of the precious metal. As the mining activities continue unabated a school has collapsed while treated water has been contaminated and raw sewer pipes vandalized.
Globe and Phoenix Mine, which is a stone throw away from the CBD, collapsed into an underground mining tunnel left by illegal miners injuring several children in the process. The school has since been condoned off and the children are in dire straits as they are conducting lessons under tents which have also been affected by the rains and hailstorm that came with it.
Kwekwe Town Clerk Dr Lucia Mnkandla decried the mining activities saying the environmental damage was real, “We have a serious challenge illegal gold panners are digging up everywhere and, in the process, they vandalize council property, recently, we had the illegal panners digging up an entire road and destroyed a roundabout and almost destroyed a house in search of the gold,” said Dr Mnkandla.
In some instances, the panners even vandalize sewer pipes as they use the water to ‘purify’ their gold. “I don’t know what is contained in the sewer effluent water that they break sewer pipes to access the water that they use to clean their gold. They also break clean water pipes which they also use for their mining activities. They use mercury in purifying their gold and it is also contaminating the water,” she said.
Environment Management Agency (EMA) Midlands Provincial Spokesperson Mr. Oswald Ndlovu confirmed that the activities were threatening critical infrastructure around Kwekwe. “All they care about is the gold and they disregard infrastructure to such an extent that they are now digging up roads and other critical amenities. He said there was need for multi-stakeholder approach to the situation as it cannot be addressed by one department.
This comes as government is urging all small-scale miners to get registered so that they can conduct their activities in an organized manner which allows them to contribute toward economic development.
