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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
MASVINGO Rural District Council is suing Renco Mine, a subsidiary of Rio-Zim, to recover $300,000 in unpaid mining levies. Masvingo Rural District Council chief executive officer, Martin Mubviro, told The Chronicle that the mining giant has not been paying its dues to the local authority for about three years.

He said the company management has not been forthcoming in suggesting a payment plan until it was unanimously resolved to institute legal action against the mining giant.

“We’ve resolved to take the legal route after failing to recover about $300,000 from Rio-Zim’s mining subsidiary, Renco Mine.

“We’ve approached our legal team, Mangwana and Partners Legal Practitioners over the issue and instructed them to take action.

“All mining companies operating within our jurisdiction should pay mining levies and as of Renco Mine, they were supposed to pay about $100,000 on yearly basis,” said Mubviro.

He said the local authority had made several representations to the mining giant but no progress has been made in recovering the money.

“We’ve engaged them so that they may come up with a payment plan but our efforts seem to have hit a snag as they aren’t forthcoming.

“It’s always our hope that all companies will comply with our by-laws and pay the amounts that they’re supposed to pay for operating in the districts but for reasons best to them, Rio-Zim has been quiet since 2013.

“This is worrying especially when you consider that the company is producing,” he said.

Under Zimbabwean law, all mining companies are supposed to pay levies to the local authorities under which they are operating.