MIRROR REPORTER

The anarchy in Zim’s mining industry shows in the alarming fatalities due to accidents where 57 miners were killed in the Midlands Province alone in 2023 compared to just 40 across the entire USA and 55 across South Africa. These two countries employ hundreds of thousands of workers in their mines while the Midlands Province may not even have 10 000 workers.

The high fatality rate is due to powerful politicians who are allowed to mine without compliance to mining safety regulations. A typical example is Zanu PF MP Scott Sakupwanya who continues to run rag-tag operations at Redwing Gold Mine in Manicaland despite damning reports and orders to stop by environmental organisations.

Tens of workers have so far been killed at Redwing and some fatalities go unreported. Aljazeera investigations into gold smuggling in Zimbabwe alleged that the mining sector is dominated by powerful politicians including the First family.