‘Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment Promote Artisanal Mining (Chikorokoza) & TB’-Parirenyatwa

HEALTH and child care minister David Parirenyatwa says the country’s indigenisation and economic empowerment laws have promoted artisanal mining (Chikorokoza) which is contributing to the rise in Tuberculosis cases.

The minister was speaking at the second stakeholder meeting on TB in the mining sector in Harare Friday.

It is estimated that over two million people are into artisanal mining throughout the country with most of them in the gold sector.

Artisanal miners who use traditional ways of extracting mineral resources are highly exposed to dust.

They are also affected by chemicals like mercury which they use in the purification of gold.

Both dust and mercury increases the chances of miners getting TB.

Government records indicate that TB prevalence stands at around 300% meaning that per 100 000 people 300 have the disease.

Parirenyatwa said although artisan mining was part of government’s indigenisation policy people in that sector were greatly exposed to TB because of lack of protective material needed in professional mining.

“Zimbabwe has taken a bold step of empowering the masses,” said the minister.

“We have said lets indigenise and said go for farming, go for mining go for industrialisation and value addition and that we are doing in a very vigorous manner.

“But as we do that we are also creating artisanal miners.”

He added: “It is, therefore, the duty of those of us in the public health to ensure that these massive undertakings do not sacrifice our people’s health through lack of Knowledge.

“It is our duty to see to it that those who choose mining as their vocation will work to ripe old age where they see their grandchildren enjoy the fruits of their labour.”

Deputy Director of AIDS and TB Dr Charlse Sandy said people working in the mines a have more than 100% more chances of contracting TB if compared to other people.

“We do not have the statistics of how many people in this sector (artisanal mining) have TB; but we are in the process of trying to find ways of getting these statistics so that we report accordingly.

“At the moment we have started moving around these mines with TB detecting machines so that we help them,” said Dr Sandy. source-newzimbabwe