Zimbabwe: Former minister admits “we have destroyed our nation”

Former Deputy Minister Reuben Marumahoko has admitted that the government of President Robert Mugabe has destroyed the nation because of bad decisions it has made over the years.

He said over one million jobs were created in chrome mining along the Great Dyke but the government suddenly stopped chrome exports saying it wanted to go into beneficiation, yet it was not prepared for it. The country did not have any furnaces or the power to fire those furnaces.

Then came Chiadzwa. The government decided to amalgamate diamond mines operating in the area because it was not getting the revenue it thought it ought to get, but it never investigated why the revenue was not coming in. Now there are no diamonds.

The government took over most mines through the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Today none of those mines are operating. Yet if the government facilitated alluvial gold mining, it could get “10 to 30 tonnes a week”.

Even on land reform, the government is now talking about reducing farm sizes, but it has never looked at production or why farmers are not producing.

“This nation is rich in natural resources and we should not be suffering as we are experiencing right now,” he said.  “The problem is with the way we operate our resources….

“We need to look at sustainability and ensure that the future generation is able to have a source of livelihood.  We have destroyed our nation,” he said.

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