The Mines and Minerals Bill (MMAB, 2015) in Zimbabwe was introduced to amend and strengthen the 1963 Mines and Minerals Act. The 1963 Act lacked provisions that would prevent mineral revenue leakages, opaque mining licensing, poor flows of taxes and royalties to the fiscus, corruption and human rights violations against host communities among other issues. The MMAB has incorporated some essential changes to address current limitations. The provisions include the “use it or lose it policy” which prevent accumulation of mining claims for speculative purposes and the cadastre system which requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be undertaken before issuance of a mining title. The MMAB is also proposing the setting up of the Safety, Health and Rehabilitation Fund (SHRF) which makes it mandatory for mining executives to account for environmental violations. This provision is in line with section 73 (b) (1) of the new constitution which oblige the state to pass legislation to protect the environment by preventing pollution and ecological degradation. The CRD is concerned that the proposed Amendment still contains a number of limitations.
