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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent

DOZENS of artisanal miners have descended on Gokwe’s Tongogara suburb following reports that gold deposits have been discovered in the area.

A mentally challenged woman is said to have been found unknowingly playing with a gold nugget which prompted people from all over Gokwe to descend on the area in search of the precious mineral.

Gokwe North District development coordinator, Mr Martin Musakanda said law enforcement agencies have since been deployed to the area.

“It is confirmed that a woman picked up a piece of gold ore from the place in question. The gold ore was then discovered by knowledgeable community members after noticing that the woman was using the ore to play a traditional game called nhodo. She eventually led the community to the place, which subsequently led to a massive movement of people from all walks of life to the place.”

He said there were some people who were claiming ownership of the area.

“There are some prospectors in possession of papers dated 31 March 2021. We are still trying to verify with the papers and we engage the relevant authorities on that one,” said Mr. Musakanda.

Mr Musakanda as head of the Civil Protection Unit teamed up with the Environmental Management Agency, the police and other Government agencies and headed for the area.

He said there was high levels of level degradation and illegal of illegal activities like prostitution were also on the increase in the area.

“We discovered an estimated 8 000 people panning gold. There was serious land degradation of about six hectares, deforestation, land pollution, disturbance of the ecosystem, breeding ground for criminal activities, spread of sexually transmitted infections,” he said.

Mr Musakanda said some of the challenges they noted were non-compliance with Covid-19 regulations, unavailability of safe drinking water, insecurity of local people, absence of ablution facilities which might also help spread water borne diseases and covid-19.

He recommended for the place to be closed and operations be stopped.

“We recommended that the illegal activities be stopped forthwith and allow formal processes to take place, that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development takes the lead, holders of prospecting licenses register with the local rural district council, security areas to take charge and that a community share ownership be mooted,” he said.

“In line with the Government’s devolution agenda, we recommended that a community share ownership scheme be created,” he said.