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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
CHIEFS in Matabeleland South Province have said police must be visible in mining areas following a spate of violent crimes in Gwanda and Esigodini mining areas that have resulted in the loss of life and property.

Speaking during a meeting between the Gwanda Local Peace Committee and locals from Vova Mine in Gwanda, Chief Mathema said there are a lot of illegal activities in mining areas which had to be dealt with.

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) in partnership with the Churches Convergence on Peace facilitated the formation of the committee and others across the country.

“The problem we have is that police are not forthcoming in attending scenes when people make reports. They are called when violence is looming and they only arrive when things have gone out of hand or when there are already dead bodies.

“Sometimes when we call the police they tell us that they don’t have transport to ferry them from their bases to the scene just because they lack dedication. I don’t see why they fail to walk to the scenes because the distance they would walk is the same distance which people walk to reach clinics. We need police visibility in order to contain these criminal activities,” he said.

“Violence at Vova Mine has been experienced since 2000 and I don’t understand why it is still persisting. There are a lot of illegal mining activities in that place and where are the police so that they can bring an end to them once and for all?”

The chief said mining operations at Vova Mine have to regularised so that the area does not harbour criminals.

He said more police officers must be deployed at mines to end violence.

Speaking during the same meeting, locals said they had made several efforts to engage police over criminal activities in their area, to no avail. They also accused police of receiving bribes from criminals.

The locals said the perpetrators of violence were machete and axe-wielding thugs that were robbing miners and vendors. They said these conflicts later escalated into tribal wars.

A caretaker at one of the stamp mills, Mr Malachi Sigogo, said whenever they reported incidences of violence at the mines, police cited transport challenges for not attending. He said at times police attended the scene after four days.

Responding to people’s concerns, Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele said they would be deploying more cops to mining areas.

“The source of conflict is the gold found in these mining areas. As police we are concerned about these illegal activities as they cause conflicts. Some mine owners also welcome illegal miners to operate in their claims and they go on to protect these criminals,” he said.

“Corruption is two-fold and we urge people to desist from offering bribes to our officers as that encourages them to engage in illegal activities.

“Those officers who don’t attend scenes are being lazy and please report such incidences so that we can deal with them. We created police bases so that we can be closer to the people.”

Chief Insp Ndebele also appealed to members of the public to assist, if possible, as they were facing resource challenges. —@DubeMatutu