Zimbabwe youths have reached out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa over “colonial-era” mining regulations which were stifling youth empowerment.
Speaking at a Zanu PF Youth convention held in Kadoma recently, the chairperson of young small-scale miners, Tatenda Gwinji complained over Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) saying that they restrained small-scale miners hence the need to remove them. Gwinji said:
Your Excellency, there is this animal called EPO, and it has caused a lot of problems. Everywhere we go, we are told that there is EPO. Who is EPO? What benefit do we have from EPOs. I plead with you, your Excellency, kindly look into this issue.
Zim Morning Post observes that EPOs is the first licence a company obtains before it may explore for minerals in any given area in the country.
The publication further notes that the maximum area considered under EPOs in Zimbabwe is 65 000 hectares, with the minimum uptake size being any company’s discretion and the minimum tenure of EPOs is three years, subject to renewable for another three years upon the lessee’s choice.