The
measures,
presented
during
a
full
council
meeting,
cover
mining
operations,
construction
materials,
non-timber
forest
produce,
and
new
revenue
streams
such
as
carbon
credits.
Council
treasurer
Sicelesile
Ncube
said
the
local
authority
was
responding
to
rising
commercial
activity
in
the
district.
“We
saw
that
in
Gwanda
there
is
quarry.
We
realised
that
there
will
be
people
interested
in
having
businesses
dealing
with
quarry,
so
we
introduced
the
licences
at
US$500
per
annum,”
she
said.
Penalties
for
illegal
sand
extraction
will
also
increase
from
US$100
to
US$300,
in
line
with
existing
by-laws.
“We
have
aligned
it
with
our
by-law
which
is
at
US$300,
so
we
increased
it
for
2026,”
Ncube
explained.
The
mining
sector
will
see
significant
changes.
Fees
for
stamp
mills,
which
were
reduced
to
US$2,400
in
2025,
will
revert
to
US$3,000
per
year
after
a
review
revealed
that
some
operators
were
carrying
out
multiple
activities
under
a
single
licence.
“Stamp
mills
were
US$2,400
for
2025,
but
initially
they
were
US$3,000,”
said
Ncube.
“We
had
a
tour
as
the
Finance
Committee
visited
areas
with
stamp
mills
and
we
realised
that
people
with
stamp
mills
will
be
calling
it
a
stamp
mill,
but
when
you
enter
inside
the
mine
you
realise
there
are
many
activities
happening.
So
we
decided
to
bring
it
back
to
US$3,000,
which
we
were
initially
charging.”
Ball
mills
and
hammer
mills,
previously
charged
the
same,
will
now
be
separated,
ball
mills
at
US$700
and
hammer
mills
at
US$600.
“We
used
to
charge
these
the
same
at
US$600,
but
we
were
advised
that
they
are
different.
We
left
the
hammer
mill
at
US$600
and
the
ball
mill
is
at
US$700
because
they
work
differently,
so
we
separated
the
prices,”
Ncube
said.
At
the
processing
level,
fees
for
elution
plants
have
been
reduced
from
US$2,400
to
US$2,000,
while
heap
leach
plants
will
rise
from
US$3,000
to
US$3,500.
Fees
for
cyanidation
tanks
remain
unchanged.
The
council
has
also
introduced
a
charge
on
soil
aggregates
used
in
commercial
building
projects,
pegged
at
US$3
per
tonne.
“On
permits
for
soil
aggregate,
we
noticed
that
in
rural
areas,
people
are
now
building
huge
houses,
so
we
said
we
will
charge
them
US$3
per
tonne,”
Ncube
said.
“We
are
specifically
targeting
those
building
shops.
Some
of
them
are
consuming
too
much
of
our
soil.
We
are
looking
at
ways
to
increase
our
revenue
bases,
so
we
are
targeting
those
building
businesses,
not
homes.”
GRDC
also
plans
to
regulate
the
commercial
harvesting
of
non-timber
forest
produce,
particularly
mopane
worms
(amacimbi).
“On
non-timber
produce
we
are
looking
at
things
like
amacimbi.
There
will
be
those
whom
we
will
charge
US$150,
we
are
targeting
those
coming
with
vehicles
to
buy
and
hoard
many
bags,”
Ncube
said.
“Then
there
are
those
who
harvest
mopane
worms
from
home,
we
are
going
to
charge
them
US$50.
The
US$50
is
not
for
those
staying
here
and
harvesting
for
consumption
purposes,
it’s
for
those
doing
commercial
purposes.”
She
added:
“But
if
the
villagers
also
harvest
for
commercial
purposes,
we
will
also
expect
them
to
pay
the
US$50
permit.”
Ncube
said
the
council
was
also
exploring
revenue
from
carbon
credits,
projecting
about
US$150,000
in
the
2026
budget
framework.
“We
are
not
yet
sure
how
that
will
be
charged,”
she
added.
Carbon
credits
are permits
that
allow
the
owner
of
the
credit
to
emit
a
certain
amount
of
carbon
dioxide
or
other
greenhouse
gases
(GHGs).
One
credit allows
the
emission
of
one
ton
of
carbon
dioxide
or
the
equivalent
of
other
greenhouse
gases.