by BERNARD CHIKETO
Government has told its mine inspectors that their orders to close unsafe pits will no longer be quietly reversed by well-connected operators, promising to shield them from the political meddling and intimidation that have long undercut regulation in one of Africa’s more dangerous mining jurisdictions.
Speaking at a national inspectors’ workshop, the mines minister, Dr. Polite Kambamura, said closure or suspension orders must stand until an inspector is satisfied that hazards have been addressed.
“If an inspector closes a mine, it should be so. No one should overturn that order until the inspector is satisfied,” he told the gathering.
He added that the instruction carried the explicit backing of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office.
The remarks are the bluntest signal yet that the state is willing to armour its field inspectors, who have often been thwarted by mine owners invoking political connections or offering inducements.
Dr Kambamura called inspectors “the eyes of government” and warned that a vision blurred by bribery or fear cost lives.
“You now have teeth to bite,” he said, urging them to use the full weight of the Mines and Minerals Act against riverbed mining, infrastructure-endangering diggings and unlicensed operations.
To reinforce that bite, the ministry is setting up confidential whistleblower channels through which inspectors can report attempts at interference or corruption without risking their careers.
“We will protect you,” the minister said. “But you must act.”
The drive comes as Zimbabwe grapples with a wave of illegal and artisanal mining that has caused deadly accidents, poisoned water sources and wrecked roads and bridges.
Gold, platinum and lithium exports are critical sources of foreign currency for the struggling economy, making robust but credible enforcement politically delicate.
Analysts noted that the new protections could, if implemented, raise safety standards and curb the lawlessness that bleeds state revenues, but success will depend on whether the declared political cover holds when powerful interests are threatened.
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