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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
THERE is a need to capacitate more women to venture into mining so as to enhance their contribution to the mainstream economy, a senior Government official has said.

The mining sector has for years been dominated by men but an increasing number of women are joining the sector which has great potential to create employment.

The discovery of lithium across the country has further amplified the calls for women’s participation in the mining sector as lithium is the mineral of the moment internationally.

Zimbabwe is one of the largest lithium-resource hubs in Africa and the fifth-largest worldwide, which creates more opportunities for women miners, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Mashonaland East, Apollonia Munzverengi, said yesterday. She was speaking in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the Mines and Minerals Bill stakeholders’ engagement meeting. Minister Munzverengi, who is a former Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president, said women’s capacitation and support were critical for inclusive economic growth.

“Of late there is a rush for the mineral of the future, which is lithium. It has become and is sought after by so many people including foreign investors. I have realised that the mineral seems not very difficult to discover or mine and as such women who venture into lithium mining are likely to benefit a lot,” she said.

ZULU LITHIUM MINE

Minister Munzverengi said women could go into partnership with either local or foreign investors so that they benefit from the exploitation of the country’s natural resources like lithium and other minerals. She said there should be deliberate policies and programmes promoting investment into the mining sector by women.

There are many women artisanal miners that are into gold mining. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women provide about 50 percent of the labour force for artisanal and small-scale miners. However, their compensation lags behind that of their male counterparts or remains unpaid as it comes in the form of assistance to the male family members engaged in such work.

Minister Munzverengi said the difference between men and women in mining is that women are less knowledgeable about the sector hence men are taking advantage of them. – @Sikhulekelani.