In an interview with the local media recently, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Amos Midzi admitted that all was not well in the sector.

"The mining sector has, for several years now, been unable to perform up to its maximum potential owing to various challenges, which have been exacerbated by the macro-economic situation currently prevailing in the country. The mining sector continues to meet setbacks in the form of shortage of foreign currency, incessant power outages, brain drain and the hyper inflationary business environment has caused a lot of harm to the sector," said Midzi.

"The major drawback has been the high-risk perception the country is viewed by foreign investors. At the same time mining sector budget allocation has been continuously shrinking."

"All this needs adequate funding to ensure effective planning and implementation of the mining programmes through availing of adequate financial and material support that has continuously deteriorated over the years.

"The absence of institutions like a mining bank — specifically for financing miners, analogous to Agribank which offers financial backup to farmers, has dealt a huge blow to local miners, who continue to be financially incapacitated to participate in the production sectors. There is absence of a financial package designed for the emerging miner.

"The situation has also been compounded by lack of relevant material resources such as vehicles to carry out monitoring and inspection audits taking cognizance that mining is a field based profession," Midzi lamented in a sad tone that showed how desperate the government has come.

There seem to be no options as investors have been shunning the country for some time.

The government has thus settled for a senseless gesture proposing amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act, to come up with an Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill that seeks to put 51 percent shareholding in any mining venture in the hands of Zimbabweans.

The bug that ate into the farming industry will soon destroy the mining sector.

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