STEPHEN CHADENGA
Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Martin Makonese has urged the ministry of Mines and Mining Development to urgently deal with mining disputes that he said are improperly handled and continue to overload the courts.
He said the number of mining disputes continue to increase and range from boundary disputes over mining locations, farmer and miner disputes relating to over pegging and encroachment into existing mining blocks.
“The courts are currently inundated with mining disputes,” Justice Makonese said this Monday at the official opening of the Gweru High Court circuit.
“The same cases are litigated over and over again with the same parties and same subject matter. This practice must stop. What is of concern is that in specific cases two or more individual/entities are issued with certificates of registration in respect of mining claims on the same location.”
Justice Makonese added: “This scenario raises a lot of questions and suspicion and must be urgently addressed by the ministry [of Mines].”
He said the ministry should equip provincial mining directors with sufficient skills and resources to handle and determine mining disputes.
“It is improper for a provincial mining director to simply issue a letter ordering the stoppage of mining operations at the instance of one party to a dispute without carrying thorough investigations,” Justice Makonese said.
He said the courts have learnt that in some cases mining operations are ordered to stop in order to allow one party to loot minerals under the pretext that a dispute has arisen.
