By Stephen Chadenga
MINERS in the Midlands province have pledged to raise the province’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) from the current average of 11 percent.
This comes in the wake of the province seeking to position itself as the country’s best investment destination.
In an interview with The Echo News, prominent gold miner and Miners4ED member, Ticha Darangwa also known as Big Tich said mining played a pivotal role in the province hence the need for unity among Miners to ensure enhanced economic growth in the Midlands.
“Miners are the game changers in the Midlands province’s economic growth hence we need to up our game to surpass the current GDP,” Darangwa said.
“As miners we might have our challenges as do our mining business but we need to be focused.
“To form joint ventures and partnerships among other strategies so that government can chip in and assist us.”
Darangwa added: “Currently artisanal and small scale miners surpass big companies in total gold production and as Midlanders we should be at the forefront to maintain this achievement.”
Big Tich said as President Emmerson Mnangagwa “aptly put it that, Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, Midlands province should see to it that it develops it’s economy.”
According to data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) 2022 survey the Midlands gross domestic product stood at 10,9,% with the provincial gross GDP largely attributed to the mining sector.
The statistics revealed that the province recorded a ZWL$25 billion growth in it’s GDP, with the mining sector contributing $7 billion.
Last year Midlands provincial affairs and devolution minister Owen Ncube said:
” We are proud to note that the province registered a 10,9% growth rate in 2022, the highest in the country for that period.
“Let me hasten to say that mining and quarrying had the highest contribution to our provincial GDP followed by agriculture, forestry, fishing and manufacturing.”
Early this year artisanal and small scale miners surpassed large scale operations in the country’s gold output and contributed over 60% of total gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries.
Gold output between January and June 2025 was over 20 tonnes with the Zimbabwe Miners Federation targeting 40 tonnes of gold production this year to surpass the 36,48 tonnes achieved in 2024.
