A condemning audit has revealed that the […]

A condemning audit has revealed that the Ministry of Mines has failed to collect over K626 million in penalties from more than 5,200 mining offenders, effectively allowing violators to walk away without consequence. Despite issuing fines for breaches such as non-submission of reports and illegal pegging, the Ministry has yet to recover a single kwacha from those penalized, raising serious questions about enforcement, accountability, and possible collusion within the regulatory framework.

According to the Report of the Auditor General on the Accounts of the Republic for the Financial Year Ended 31st December 2025, the Ministry of Mines has failed to collect substantial penalty fees from mining licence holders found in breach of licence conditions.

This is contrary to Section 115(1) of the Mines and Minerals Development Act No. 11 of 2015 empowers authorised officers to summarily demand penalty payments not exceeding six thousand penalty units for certain offences, provided the total penalty does not surpass two hundred thousand penalty units.

 These offences include non-submission of mandatory reports, failure to pay pegging fees, and area charge violations. During the audit period, a total of 5,222 clients were fined an aggregate amount of K626,640,000 for various infractions. However, as of 31st August 2026, these penalty fees had not been collected by the Ministry.

 Section 115(1)  of the Mines and Minerals Development Act No.11 of 2015 states, “An authorised officer may, where satisfied that a person has committed an offence for which the penalty does not exceed two hundred thousand penalty units or where a person has admitted the commission of an offence under this Act for which the penalty does not exceed two hundred thousand penalty units, summarily demand from the person the payment of a fine not exceeding six thousand penalty units in respect of the offence.”

 “During the period under review, 5,222 clients were fined amounts totalling K626,640,000 by the Ministry for offences such as non-submission of reports, pegging and area charges. As at 31st August 2026, the funds had not been collected.”

 Article by Tyndale Muchiya

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