The Daily News (Harare)
Angela Makamure
15 May 2002
IT might not be as grandiose as the historical Klondike Gold Rush, but hundreds of informal traders, commercial sex workers and drug peddlers have swamped Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa just to capitalise on gold panners.
Gold panning is increasingly becoming a major source of livelihood for many people in the Midlands Province. Settlements have mushroomed along valleys in Shurugwi, resulting in a business boom.
Some panners and traders have come from such distant places as Plumtree, Lupane, Gokwe, Mutare, Masvingo, Mozambique and Zambia to seek their fortunes.
Cornelia Mudzingwa, an informal trader, from Matenda area of Zvishavane who frequents these areas, especially those near Runde River where gold panning is rife, said selling her goods had transformed her business.
Now she cannot think of a better and more rewarding line of business. "Business is quite vibrant here. I am making a lot of money from selling foodstuffs and other essentials such as soap, maize-meal, sugar, cooking oil and oranges," Mudzingwa said.
"We maximise on the gold panners because every minute of their time is working time. They do not have time to deposit their money in the banks because of their lifestyle. They live in the bush. This means they can only buy from us even though our prices are exorbitant."
Mudzingwa buys foodstuffs and other goods from Zvishavane almost on a daily basis and then sells them to panners with claims along the reefs.
"Every day I get something like $10 000 and that is really something to smile about," she said.
She started selling basic commodities to gold panners four years ago and each day business has witnessed a boom because the area is attracting more people by the day because of its gold deposits.
Mudzingwa said she sold a 2kg sugar packet for $300 and the price of a 750ml bottle of cooking ranges from $400 - $450. A 20kg packet of maize meal is being sold for $1 300 while a bar of washing soap is going for $250 and bread is $120 a loaf.
Such prices could be the reason why it is not surprising that most of the basic commodities which are hard to come by on supermarket shelves in urban centres are found in abundance particularly in these gold panning areas.
About six boxes full of sugar were unloaded at one of the points in the Matenda area in the presence of this reporter. Traders believe that rural people such as the gold panners are a captive market with no choice but to buy from them, despite the exorbitant prices.
Commercial sex workers have also moved into these gold panning areas, where clients are easy to come by and have money to burn.
Chipo Mudonga, a commercial sex worker, who said she was from Chiredzi, has joined in the "Great trek" to Shurugwi. She said the gold panning belt had become a very rewarding catchment area for her and her colleagues.
She usually goes to Chachacha growth point in Shurugwi district, where several other women and young girls entertain clients, the "loaded gold panners" - for the night.
They frequent popular night spots in the town and the gold panners are considered very generous customers unlike other men. "They are generous and this is why I moved from Chiredzi to this place. The makorokoza (clients) are their own banks, so it is quite convenient for us," Mudonga said.
"After work, we know they will come for us this side. They pay us cash." Commercial sex workers say business is usually brisk over weekends because most of the gold buyers, prefer coming on weekends to do business when they have enough time to move around.
"On a good day I get at least $4 000 a night for my services. I prefer short-time clients because I make more money that way than spending a whole night with one client who only gives me $1000 or even less."
Most commercial sex workers started flocking to gold panning settlements in 1998 when house owners at the growth point rented out their houses for as little as $150 a night for a couple. Night club owners are also benefiting from these gold panners.
But drug peddlers have also found a new market. They believe gold panners get strength to work, even through the night, from drugs.
Despite several dangers associated with gold panning, Collen Mandizvidza, one of the gold panners at Runde River, said he would not abandon panning for anything else.
He said: "I have worked in small mines for over six years now. I have been to Muterekwi river, but I have decided to look for other claims. This is why I came to exploit this rich area.
"I cannot work for someone and get paid at the end of the month when I can make money within minutes. "We have to work hard to get a gramme of gold which is worth $2 000, at times we get four points a day which is worth $400. It is not by choice that we are doing this, but the current economic difficulties are forcing us to work like this." Most of the gold panners have abandoned their homes.
They have taken their families to makeshift settlements, and most children have dropped out of school inorder to help their parents at the small mines which they have renamed "DRC". They compare these small mines to diamond mines in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Some panners perish when they are trapped inside the shafts. The police seem reluctant to do anything to stop gold panning. A police officer in Gweru, who refused to be named, said they last conducted raids on the panners in 2000 and they had not gone back.
Gold panning became rampant in the early 1990s in Zvishavane and Shurugwi, following a severe drought which forced people to look for other alternative ways to survive. In Zvishavane the number of panners is estimated to have increased from 20 000 to 25 000.
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