Lands Deputy Minister Haritatos, Tagwirei expected in Gweru for the MMF Investors Conference
By Delicious Mathuthu
Zimbabwe Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Honourable Vangelis Peter Haritatos, and business mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei are expected to grace the inaugural Midlands Miners, Farmers Investors Conference to be held in Gweru on the 8th of March 2023.
Hon. Haritatos will be Guest Speaker along with Chief Director in the Agriculture Advisory and Rural Development Services(AARDS) as a Co-Guest Speaker.
Tagwirei is expected to make a special appearance with a short presentation on the conference’s theme, which seeks to unite miners and farmers towards achieving Government’s Vision 2030.
Close sources to Kwedu News, however, say the business mogul is yet to confirm or make official communication on his attendance.
The conference, organised by the Midlands Miners Forum (MMF) working with the Lands and Mines Ministries, will run under the theme ‘Shifting the Mindset and Responsible Mining: Farmers, Miners and Investors Moving Towards Attainment of Vision 2030’.
The one day investment conference seeks to enhance the achievement of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) targets and Mines Ministry’s US$12 billion growth target by 2030.
The conference comes at an opportune time as mining and farming are the two largest industries in the country’s economy with the two sectors usually at odds.
The Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation notes that miners usually have an upper hand when it comes to conflicts as outlined in the Mines and Minerals Act but government and all stake holders within the sectors are trying to correct the anomaly to ensure a harmonious existence between the two sectors.
MMF Chairman, Edgar Benjamin, said with a hive of mining activities in the Midlands Province, the forum seeks to push for more artisanal miners to formalise, to equip them and develop their mining skills.
He said the forum also seeks to promote smart mining and acceptable behaviours that can cement relations between the miners, government and different communities around them.
“The Midlands Miners Forum (MMF) notes that there are a lot of mining activities which are done in the province in Shurugwi, Lalapanzi, Lower Gweru, Kwekwe, Gokwe, Zvishavane and Mberengwa.
“The main aim of the MMF is to make sure that it creates a platform where all of the illegal mining activities can be legally recognized and formally registered with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to have legal documentations.
“The majority of the mining activities being done in the province are being done through artisanal mining which has often been associated with limited equipment, skill and funding,” he said.
“Also, we have seen a lot of unceasing conflicts towards ownership of different claims which sometimes slows the production of large portions of minerals products.
“The MMF is alive to the fact that we need to equip and fund the local mining industry for the development of our province and country at large, and we will work with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development in the Province and at National Level with regards to smart mining and safe mining behavior and instill a sense of patriotic behavior in the miners while conducting their mining activities and business.
“The Midlands Miners Forum apart from boosting the Gross National Product (GNP) also focuses on eradicating charlatan and maladaptive behaviors from our small scale artisanal miners and this will be done through the safety training within their places of residence, in other words, outreach programs particularly on safety, drug abuse, HIV, TB and smart mining. “The Midlands Miners Forum is important in the province as it can be used as a tool for fostering good relationships between the general miners and the government and also to encourage investors to visit Midlands Province for mining investment opportunities.
“Again the forum will work hand in hand with all government institutions to develop a friendship between artisanal small scale miners,” Benjamin said.
Also expected at the conference is the Director for Lands Management and Administration, Mr Cephas Magauze, representatives from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) as well as several investors and stakeholders.
