Residents in Filabusi have halted quarrying operations at Pangani and removed machinery belonging to an operator accused of charging locals for access to a community resource, amid questions over the legality of the mining activities.
The action followed a meeting on Thursday attended by the Filabusi Residents Association, Chief Sibasa, village heads, community members and other stakeholders after complaints that residents were being charged to collect quarry from the site.
Residents allege that the operator, Mike Mandizera, was selling quarry extracted from the Pangani asbestos dump and charging up to US$20 per tonne, despite the community considering the resource to be a local benefit that should be freely accessible.
Filabusi Residents Association chairperson Sindiso Sibanda said the meeting sought to establish whether Mandizera had the legal authority to operate at the site.
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“We asked for his papers and he said he had them on his phone. He showed us documents dated 2018, but he failed to produce clear paperwork authorising him to operate in the area,” Sibanda told CITE.
Sibanda said Mandizera also failed to explain which government authority he was paying compliance fees to or identify the specific mineral he was licensed to mine.
“He stated that there is a mineral but failed to tell us which mineral he is mining exactly,” Sibanda said.
He said residents decided to stop the operations to prevent future disputes, arguing that community institutions, including schools, had been denied free access to the quarry.
Sibanda said community members removed Mandizera’s equipment from the site and placed it in safe storage, where he could collect it.
“We asked him to stop operating and removed his equipment so that operations would not continue. He is free to collect his property whenever he wants,” he said.
The dispute is not new. Minutes of the Insiza Rural District Council’s full council meeting held in May 2026 show councillors questioned the legality of Mandizera’s operations after learning that the Pangani asbestos dump, which the community and council had traditionally used as a source of stones and quarry, had been pegged by him around 2020.
According to the council minutes, officials had been advised that Mandizera was licensed to mine another mineral for export but was instead selling quarry to construction companies in Bulawayo. The minutes also state that the council itself had previously been refused access to large stones for road maintenance.
The council’s Environment Committee recommended that Mandizera’s operations be stopped while the District Development Coordinator’s office verified his documentation and, if necessary, referred the matter to the relevant ministry.
Contacted for comment, Mandizera rejected the allegations, insisting he was operating legally under permits obtained in 2018.
“I have my papers and I was operating legally. What is happening is tribalism. These people said I cannot come from Rusape and peg here in Filabusi. They said this place belongs to them and that I cannot work here when their children do not have jobs,” he said.
He said he had shown digital copies of his certificates during the meeting and claimed police officers present indicated that the documents appeared authentic.
Mandizera also disputed claims that his equipment had been confiscated.
“They did not confiscate my equipment. They removed it from the site and placed it at the Grain Marketing Board depot,” he said.
He said although his mining rights were granted in 2018, he only began operations last year.
Mandizera also denied charging local residents for quarry.
“Locals were taking quarry for free. We only charged companies we were supplying, and the price was US$15 per tonne,” he said.
He added that he had been supplying quarry free of charge to the Insiza Rural District Council and the Ministry of Transport for work on national roads.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the status of Mandizera’s mining rights or whether they authorised the extraction and sale of quarry from the Pangani site.
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