HARARE Small scale miners in Zimbabwe will acquire mining equipment on credit from a Chinese manufacturing company Zheijiang Manufacturers, it has been revealed.
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) Chief Executive, Wellington Takavarasha, last week told The Zimbabwean that the miners would receive the equipment upon payment of the first instalment. Under the programme the miners will acquire, water pumps, crushers and generators among other things under a loan facility. We will first assess the capability of the miners on the fulfilling of the terms of the purchases before recommending them for the scheme, said Takavarasha.
He added that the aim was to enhance and increase roductivity. We have realized that most of the operations of these small scale miners have been negatively affected as they do not have the funds to purchase the requisite equipment, he said. Small scale miners in Zimbabwe have failed to acquire modern equipment to enhance production. We are very grateful to the ZMF for striking such a deal to us. We have been facing lack of capital from banks because we do not have collateral. However, it remains to be seen whether the equipment will be stronger and very durable.
There are some reservations about the Chinese products coming into Zimbabwe. Some are saying they are of poor quality and not durable, but we are going to try them, said a commercial farmer,Gift Mazodze. The farmers have expressed grave concerns over the prohibitive taxes that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) charges for importing mining equipment.
Post published in: Economy