President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday officially reopened Eureka Gold Mine, Guruve’s biggest gold mine.
The Padenga Holdings-owned company, which employed over 400 workers at its peak, producing about 1.5 tonnes of gold per annum, had been idle for the past 15 years.
Commissioning the mine, Mnangagwa said his government’s thrust was to partner investors and reopen all mines that are lying idle as it pins hopes on natural resources to rebuild the economy. He said:
My administration remains available to dialogue with all investors to ensure a consistent and predictable policy and ease of doing business environment.
I, therefore, re-assure Eureka Mine and other investors throughout other sectors of the economy that my Government is a listening Government.
Furthermore, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency is capacitated to give requisite impetus to investments in the mining sector and the economy as a whole.
Mnangagwa also addressed a rally after the event where he assured villagers that the resuscitated mine would not only provide employment for them but build infrastructure.
He took the opportunity to castigate opposition parties for “inviting” sanctions which he said had caused untold suffering on villagers. Said Mnangagwa:
We should all wish for a good country with good leaders, not those that beg for sanctions.
We have gone more than 20 years with targeted sanctions called for by the opposition.
We know they are among us in the country, but we should just ignore them and let life continue.
It is also unfortunate that in SADC, we are the only country that was not given funds to cater for COVID-19 pandemic vaccines, but thank God, to date, we have more than five million people who were vaccinated and fewer COVID-19 patients.
As of 21 October 2021, Zimbabwe had fully vaccinated 2 517 653 people against a target of 10 million required to reach herd immunity.