Gwanda RDC targets natural resources to boost 2026 revenue 

Gwanda Rural District Council (GRDC) has proposed a series of new levies and fees for its 2026 budget, aimed at increasing revenue by tightening regulation over natural resources and aligning charges with council by-laws.

The measures, presented during a full council meeting, cover mining operations, construction materials, non-timber forest produce, and new revenue streams such as carbon credits.

Council treasurer Sicelesile Ncube said the local authority was responding to rising commercial activity in the district.

“We saw that in Gwanda there is quarry. We realised that there will be people interested in having businesses dealing with quarry, so we introduced the licences at US$500 per annum,” she said.

Penalties for illegal sand extraction will also increase from US$100 to US$300, in line with existing by-laws.

“We have aligned it with our by-law which is at US$300, so we increased it for 2026,” Ncube explained.

The mining sector will see significant changes. Fees for stamp mills, which were reduced to US$2,400 in 2025, will revert to US$3,000 per year after a review revealed that some operators were carrying out multiple activities under a single licence.

“Stamp mills were US$2,400 for 2025, but initially they were US$3,000,” said Ncube. “We had a tour as the Finance Committee visited areas with stamp mills and we realised that people with stamp mills will be calling it a stamp mill, but when you enter inside the mine you realise there are many activities happening. So we decided to bring it back to US$3,000, which we were initially charging.”

Ball mills and hammer mills, previously charged the same, will now be separated, ball mills at US$700 and hammer mills at US$600.

“We used to charge these the same at US$600, but we were advised that they are different. We left the hammer mill at US$600 and the ball mill is at US$700 because they work differently, so we separated the prices,” Ncube said.

At the processing level, fees for elution plants have been reduced from US$2,400 to US$2,000, while heap leach plants will rise from US$3,000 to US$3,500. Fees for cyanidation tanks remain unchanged.

The council has also introduced a charge on soil aggregates used in commercial building projects, pegged at US$3 per tonne.

“On permits for soil aggregate, we noticed that in rural areas, people are now building huge houses, so we said we will charge them US$3 per tonne,” Ncube said.

“We are specifically targeting those building shops. Some of them are consuming too much of our soil. We are looking at ways to increase our revenue bases, so we are targeting those building businesses, not homes.”

GRDC also plans to regulate the commercial harvesting of non-timber forest produce, particularly mopane worms (amacimbi).

“On non-timber produce we are looking at things like amacimbi. There will be those whom we will charge US$150, we are targeting those coming with vehicles to buy and hoard many bags,” Ncube said.

“Then there are those who harvest mopane worms from home, we are going to charge them US$50. The US$50 is not for those staying here and harvesting for consumption purposes, it’s for those doing commercial purposes.”

She added:

“But if the villagers also harvest for commercial purposes, we will also expect them to pay the US$50 permit.”

Ncube said the council was also exploring revenue from carbon credits, projecting about US$150,000 in the 2026 budget framework.

“We are not yet sure how that will be charged,” she added.

Carbon credits are permits that allow the owner of the credit to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases (GHGs). One credit allows the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent of other greenhouse gases.