The Sunday Mail
Edwin Mwase
The life of a gold panner or “mukorokoza” reads like that difficult moment when a parent has to convince their child to eat their vegetables.
In popular culture, gold panners are perceived to be the scum of the earth, what with their reputation for excessive alcoholism, unruly behaviour, well-documented sexual excesses and extravagant lifestyles.
Though somewhat exaggerated and unfair, the above describes the average gold panner. For this reason, Harold Musvubi’s “rags to riches” story stands out.
In Shurugwi, Musvubi is arguably one of the most famous men in the Midlands town. Every day he navigates the rugged terrain of Shurugwi’s Wolfshall Pass, commonly known as Boterekwa, in either one of his two Isuzu D-Tec trucks as he makes his way to check on his mine or farming business.
When not on business, one is likely to run into Musvubi and his family in his Range Rover Vogue or the sporty Porsche 944 coupe.
His passport, just like that of a well-travelled tourist, has entry stamps to Israel, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and a host of other African countries.
However, life has not always been this rosy for Musvubi. He acquired this status not by luck but by honesty, hard work, humility and a little foresight.
“I applied for a small-scale mine in 1998 and was awarded two blocks in the Boterekwa area. At first I struggled because of limited equipment, but the proceeds from my gold sales saw me through and enabled me to purchase operating machinery and make something out of myself,” says the soft-spoken businessman.
After an initial rough patch that saw him live from hand to mouth, Musvubi got his breakthrough around five years ago when he struck gold (pun intended).
With a peak monthly average gold production of about 1 to 1,2kg between 2009 and 2010 and sold at an average price of US$40 per gram, Musvubi’s life took a complete turn for the better.
“I employed over 40 people, purchased a number of residential properties in Gweru, and diversified into farming where I use solar to irrigate my field.
“I am now investing in the retail business which has further improved my life, all from the land I got in 1998. I am what I am because of hard work and this is what gold mining is capable of doing to a person’s life. People view makorokoza as drunkards, violent and careless spenders, but there is another positive side to small-scale gold mining. I am living proof to that,” he added.
Despite being cast as the societal menace, in a country where artisanal mining, also known as chikorokoza, has been grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons, people like Musvubi have scripted success stories all over the country. A trip to the Mashava mining town revealed a significant improvement in the sector. Apparently, Musvubi is not the only small -scale miner who has made it in the sector, similar stories are emerging.
The suburb of Bere is the venue of our second story.
Away from the mayhem and chaos that has come to characterise the dusty township stands a towering 20-roomed, carefully decorated mansion belonging to Korowa Manyame.
With its bright colours and sprightly lighting brightening up the night sky, the house stands out as an island of prosperity in a sea of gloom.
Complete with carports where top-of-the-range vehicles are parked, the house can match the standards of upmarket houses in leafy suburbs across the country.
Manyame earned his stripes from the proceeds of gold panning, rising in this ever-growing profession to become an employer, gold miner and a businessman of repute.
“I have played cat and mouse games in the forests all my life often, coming to loggerheads with law enforcement agents, all in the name of eking a living and fending for my family,” said the former security guard with the now defunct Union Carbide run Lennox Mine.
“I remember at one stage we (panners) would follow gold rushes across the country in places like Taka farm in Chimanimani, Ruvhure here in Mashava, Mangwende in Shurugwi and even beyond the borders to Kwa Musanditeera in Mozambique,” he said.
Manyame says he believes panning is more profitable than formal employment as five points of gold per day easily translates to around US$20.
However, his only fear is the illegal racketeering currently dogging the panning industry. And he believes this could deter the growth of the sector.
This justified fear has led Manyame to trumpet calls for Government to intervene and regulate.
“Those with the physical and financial muscle, who we call mabhoziweri, are succeeding at the expense of hard-working men,” said Manyame.
“Mabhoziweri are behind most of the chaos in the gold industry such as gold smuggling hence the need for Government to regulate and formalise the industry,” he said.
Manyame and Musvubi are but a fraction of the success stories from the country’s estimated 1,5 million artisanal miners, only 40 000 of these are registered. Their cases point out to an investment opportunity worth exploring. If these two men, with their modest equipment, could make it this big in the sector, then just how much would be raked into the national fiscus from the country’s gold reserves if Government could intervene with its huge investment potential?
According to the Mines and Mining Development Minister, Walter Chidhakwa, the Government will avail a US$100 million credit facility to small-scale miners for the purchase of equipment and hopefully that will improve viability.
“They (miners) identify the equipment they want and it is purchased on their behalf. We have already held talks with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development on the issue and we expect to roll out the project soon.”
The 2014 National Budget states that “. . . small- scale mining activities employ a lot of people in the country. Most of these are artisanal small-scale miners who lack skills and, hence, Government will support their capacity building programmes. Initiatives on joint ventures with external partners will also be supported.”
