Artisanal miners chased empty-handed from Mberengwa’s Sandawana Mine
Lithium
GOVERNMENT has reportedly evicted artisanal and small-scale miners who had stationed themselves at Sandawana Mine in Mberengwa following a mineral rush in the area.
Sandawana Mine is in the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) portfolio and has been famed for producing emeralds and other precious stones.
In a video circulating on social media, the artisanal miners said authorities had abruptly evicted them without prior warning.
One of the aggrieved vendors, Nomatter Timire, condemned the inhumane removal from her source of living.
“They were supposed to have issued warnings. We are suffering and we are all trying to make ends meet,” Timire said.
“They have chased us from this place yet when we decide to go to South Africa for piece jobs, they tell us to come back, vote and help fix our country and then they treat us this way,” she added.
Timire bemoaned the deplorable state of affairs in the country adding that their eviction has worsened their endeavor to prepare for back to school.
“Schools are opening soon and we are in the midst of trying to raise money for uniforms, fees and books, yet we come here to vend and we are told to go back home and sit, how then are we supposed to fend for our children, what are we then supposed to eat,” queried Timire.
In the said video, Timire is seen packing her belongings along with an array of stock that she had purchased for resell at her makeshift vending stall.
Some of the disgruntled youth could be heard requesting the camera person to capture them.
“We are not happy with this untimely eviction, we were happy that the President had allowed us to mine and make a living,” he said.
“We have been forced to leave without anything, we had used the little money we had to kick start our small mining projects and now everything has been taken and we are being chased away.”
In November, thousands of miners attended as the Zimbabwe Miners Federation launched #MinersForED Midlands Chapter at Chingechuru.
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