Stock
image.
Zimbabwe
pledged
to
crack
down
on
illicit
commodities
trading
and
introduce
rules
to
encourage
downstream
processing,
as
the
nation
seeks
a
greater
share
of
the
benefits
from
its
natural
resources.
Vice
President
Constantino
Chiwenga
told
mining
executives
in
the
country’s
second-biggest
city,
Bulawayo,
that
Zimbabwe
remains
“open
for
business,
not
for
extraction.”
He
said
corruption
and
illicit
“leakages”
were
“cancers,”
and
that
mining
must
drive
industrialization
and
create
jobs.
“To
the
processors
and
off
takers,
the
era
of
raw
mineral
exports
must
give
way
to
beneficiation
and
value
addition,”
Chiwenga
said.
“Government
will
implement
strict
regulations
and
oversight
mechanisms
to
ensure
that
corruption
within
the
mining
sector
is
effectively
addressed
and
eradicated.”
Resource
nationalism
is
strengthening
across
Africa
as
government
seek
a
bigger
share
of
the
revenue
and
profits
from
resources
mined
by
foreign
companies.
Mining
contributes
70%
of
Zimbabwe’s
export
earnings
through
shipments
of
gold,
platinum,
lithium
and
chrome.
However,
the
Treasury
loses
millions
of
dollars
in
tax
and
royalty
revenues
from
the
smuggling
of
gold
and
other
minerals.
Most
of
Zimbabwe’s
gold
is
produced
by
small-scale
miners,
who
at
times
get
paid
late
by
the
state’s
sole
authorized
buyer,
Fidelity
Gold
Refinery,
pushing
some
to
use
other
channels.