Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. EXPERTS have expressed concern over the manner in which minerals are exploited leaving communities vulnerable despite being the custodians of the resources.
Speaking during the Zimbabwean Gold Investment Conference in Harare this week, Zambian business leader and chief adviser Mabvuto Chipata said there must be equitable distribution of value to avoid conflict.
“Each one of us, the investor and the investor’s team, must retain value and we must ensure that there is an equitable distribution of value. The absence of equitable distribution of value causes conflict between communities and between nations,” he said.
“So it is important that we know at what point who creates value and who loses value. The first, most important aspect of this discussion is that you must have political will. If we know that gold is very valuable, we cannot leave it at once.”
Mabvuto said a clear and consistent tax policy was needed to attract investors.
“You need to manage and have a policy statement to empower the communities within which gold is found. Most of these minerals are in remote areas and they are usually discovered by locals. But when these minerals are discovered, we may not have clear policies to manage the communities within which we operate,” he said.
“In the policy statement, we are trying to attract investors to the industry. The challenge is that when we attract investors, we must be prepared to make sure that they are able to get the return that they wanted to get when they come. It’s important to have a policy statement regarding a stable tax regime.
He emphasised the need to avoid haphazard changes in tax policy, adding that investors would not be able to get the return they expected.
“So at a policy level, it must be very clear that we are going to ensure and encourage a stable tax regime,” Mabvuto said.
Principal mining engineer at EY Parthenon, Godknows Njowa, said there was a need for Zimbabwe and other African countries to invest in exploration.
“We need to invest in exploration, we need to spend more on exploration for us to attract the necessary investment,” Njowa said
CBZ Holdings Limited chairperson, Luxon Zembe, said Zimbabwe presented itself as an expansive opportunity globally that everyone needs to leverage on.
“With the growing demand for these minerals around the world, Zimbabwe is positioned to be one of the key players in the mining sector globally,” he said.
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