Poverty, drought drive women into panning

Gold-panningObey Sibanda
WALKING near disused mine shafts in Motapa area of Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province, one is greeted by hordes of women clad in muddy overalls armed with picks and shovels.The women, most of them single mothers, have joined men in the risky and illegal industry of gold panning, popularly known as ukutsheketsha, in a desperate bid to sustain their families.

While men are now experienced hands in gold panning, for most women who have not yet mastered the art of panning, it remains a risky and desperate way of making a living.

From dusk until dawn, women join their male counterparts to mix soil they would have dug up from the earth with water and move it in circular motions until they are left with small quantities of mud containing specks of the precious alluvial gold.

Some smash boulders into pebbles with hammers and chisels.

The drought has reduced the flow of rivers and creeks to a point that a new wave of gold prospectors is gaining access to spots that haven’t been reached in decades.

In the darkness, squatting next to the opening of a pit with a flashlight strapped to her head is Sithabile Dube, 24, a single mother of three from Brunapeg, in Matabeleland South near Plumtree Border Post.

She cracks the rock walls with a hand made chisel without gloves to protect her palms from blisters. She scoops the mud which, if she is lucky, contains traces of alluvial gold then washes the dirt in a large sieve which separates the particles.

“This is hard work, I can tell you but it’s better than sitting at home because I get something, though very little, to feed my children and pay their school fees. As a single parent, I’m the sole breadwinner therefore I’ve to fend for my children.

“It’s now over three months since I started panning, this isn’t a woman’s job. No woman should be subjected to this kind of life. We work tirelessly and sometimes for nothing. But we continue because of the families back home. I can’t just sit at home because my children will starve and feel the gap left by their father,” said Dube, wiping sweat streaming down her cheeks.

Like Sithabile, most women panners work long hours in poor and hazardous conditions. They risk coming in contact with skin corroding chemicals, serious injuries from pit collapses and accidents with tools as well as long term health dangers associated with gold panning.

Most of the women find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of peril and despair.

They are subjected to sexual harassment by their male counterparts and unscrupulous police officers who allegedly solicit sex from them in exchange for freedom after their arrest.

“Life as a gold panner especially to a woman isn’t a bed of roses. It’s horrible. Besides the fact that we’re not realising much from panning we’re being sexually abused by some of our male counterparts under the pretext of helping us. Police officers are also a problem as some of them demand sexual favours in exchange for our freedom upon arrest. We don’t have the machinery and adequate skills making us more vulnerable to men who usually demand sex from us in order to use their equipment,” said Dube.

Traditional leaders feel gold panning is no task for a woman with children.

“Women turning to gold panning after leaving their offspring at home are doing more harm than good despite their good intentions to earn a living for their children, “ said village head Jeff Nyoni.

“Children mustn’t be left in the custody of another child or with their grandmothers, they need to be minded. They need a parent, a mother to prepare them for the future. The influx of these women in mining is tearing families apart.

“These children lack love, they’ve no mother or father to guide them or give them protection and direction. They’re hungry, lonely and face the greatest challenges of any child on the face of the earth,” he said.

Women in Mining Association president Anakileta Gumba is concerned about women engaging in illegal gold panning.

She said most women were reluctant to join her organisation which afforded them an opportunity to do their operations legally.

“We encourage every woman from every corner of the nation to come join us. We’re in a position to offer free help. Our offices are everywhere, after teaching them we’ll then divide them into groups of six each and give them claims. The problems with some of the women are that they’re stingy with information and instead of sharing whatever information they have, they want to keep it to themselves as a secret and some don’t even want to learn preferring to continue mining illegally,” said Gumba

Member of the House of Assembly for Bubi constituency Clifford Sibanda acknowledged the problem of illegal mining activities in his constituency.

He said negotiations were underway with mine claim owners to come up with a win-win situation so that women gold panners benefit.

“What these miners are doing right now is illegal mining. We’re proposing that these people form groups or syndicates then mine on behalf of Metallon Gold company. The company will provide machinery then they’ll share the proceeds equally,” said Sibanda

The country is estimated to be losing millions of dollars through gold leakages on a monthly basis as smugglers are taking the precious metal across borders in search of higher prices. As a counter measure the government has set up teams to monitor gold production on a monthly basis to ensure that the mineral is channelled to Fidelity Printers for refining.

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