Zimbabwe government has suspended a controversial special mining permit given to a Chinese firm, Afrochine to mine inside Mavuradona Game Park.
This came after a crisis meeting on Monday in which they traded blame, leading to government suspending the company’s operations.
The meeting which was held in Harare and chaired by Local Government minister July Moyo, was attended by executives from the ministry of Mines, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ), Muzarabani and Guruve Rural District Councils (RDCs).
According to sources who attended the crisis meeting that sought to address public outcries arising from Afrochine’s irresponsible mining activities inside the wildlife reserve, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was unanimously agreed the Chinese company should immediately fold operations.
“There appeared to be consensus that the mining is not doing any good to the conservation of our natural resources in the Mavuradonha Wilderness,” the source said.
“It was established that some of the miners had papers but actually breached conditions set. Some had no papers at all but claimed to have authority to operate in the conservancy while others had authority from Guruve RDC but encroached into Muzarabani,” the source added.
The suspension will be regarded as a win by Chief Chiweshe, who over the weekend put his head on the line by standing up to the Chinese, for long regarded as King Makers in the ruling Zanu PF party and Zimbabwean politics.
He is among the many who challenged Afrochine’s chrome exploration and extraction within the wildlife conservancy which has been maintained in its original state since 1988.
