Small-scale miners have called on government to decriminalise possession of gold which they argue is promoting side-marketing of the mineral on the black market.
By Simon Phiri
Current legislation bars individuals without mining licences to deal in gold.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners is the official government buyer of the mineral.
Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) technical adviser Marufu Sithole said decriminalisation of gold possession would improve gold deliveries to the formal market as most of the artisanal miners who extract the mineral did not have mining licences.
“We have people who have metal detectors who are extracting a lot of gold, but they do not have permits and are, therefore, scared to take it to Fidelity Printers and Refiners as they will be prosecuted.
“The only way out is to sell their gold through illegal means and government should address this as a matter of urgency if gold deliveries are to improve,” he said.
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Sentiments by Sithole come as cases of gold smuggling have been on the increase in recent weeks with South Africa and Botswana being the main destination of the mineral.
As of last month at least 57,1 kilogrammes of gold has been intercepted at the country’s borders due for smuggling.
The developments come despite announcements by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, that government is buying gold using the London Bullion Market price and had reduced royalties to the fiscus from 5 % to 1% in a bid to promote delivery of gold through formal channels.
However, Sithole said despite the announcements in the reduction in royalties, the new tax regime is still to be implemented.
Gold deliveries have been on a steady increase with small scale miners output soaring to 3 700kg in July from 1 570kg in the same period last year.
ZMF has set a target of ten tonnes of gold by the end of the year.
