UGANDANS SHOUD TAKE KEEN INTEREST IN THE ONGOING REVIEW OF THE MINING ACT 2003.

 https://chimpreports.com/opinion-ugandans-should-take-keen-interest-in-the-ongoing-review-of-the-mining-act-2003/?fbclid=IwAR263JvKy1urbi-tRFoKjU_dhtWZsxA_yBU7ldpQBoesAv5ucS9OjIw6cvM

By Aryatwijuka Phillo,

UGANDANS SHOUD TAKE KEEN INTEREST IN THE ONGOING REVIEW OF THE MINING ACT 2003.

The Principles to be embodied in the Mining and Minerals Bill 2019 were approved by cabinet in January 2019 demonstrating government’s commitment in undertaking key mining sector legal and regulatory reviews in the Mining sector; the review Mining Act 2003 and Mining regulations 2004. This commitment is further reflected in the passing of the Mining and Minerals Policy 2018 which undoubtedly put Uganda on the positive road to major legal reforms in the mining sector.

These reviews come at a time when the mining sector contribution to GDP is 0.3% per annum. Notably the mining and minerals policy 2018 recognises that resources such as sand, clay and rock mining have become a major driver towards economic growth having attracted increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sub-sector from US$5 million in 2003 to over US$ 800 million in 2017.

Again the mining and Minerals Policy 2018 further propels the mining sector into another strategic direction by clearly demonstrating that every Ugandan can mine or be affected by mining activities when it took consideration the regulation of commercial exploitation of development minerals; like sand, stone, clay and murrum among others. The premise of inclusion of this category of minerals is to support revenue generation estimated at over 3% contribution to GDP.

In light of these current developments, Ugandans ought to appreciate that gone are the days when a mention of a mineral was considered gold, diamonds and other precious metals. Without question a big percent of Ugandans uses this category of minerals like sand, clay, stone mostly in construction and ultimately should be interested in the ongoing reviews. The biggest percentage of the Ugandan population has kept in the background mainly due to lack of access to information on key sector processes, mining rights and entitlements that can facilitate their effective participation.

Ugandans should be keen on the mining act 2003 review processes by ensuring it addresses key pertinent issues of concern. Current weaknesses in the Mining Act 2003 relate to its salient claims on royalty payments which often do not reach landowners further escalated by the complex nature of land ownership in areas like Karamoja, lack of a clear system for quantification and verification on how much is extracted to enable local governments and land owners understand the core basis upon which royalty amount due is calculated. This has had negative implications on the failure by mining revenues to translate into long-term social and economic development in communities located near mining or mineral exploration projects. On the other hand the current mining act is salient on a clear long-term strategy or funding to formalize ASM subsector, which remains informal and continues to be a source of conflict and lost revenue. Other issues relate to free prior and informed consent during exploration as well as environmental management prior, during and after mining activities.

Additionally there is limited capacity, resources and personnel for monitoring, inspections and enforcement of existing laws and regulations which has affected and weakened the legal and regulatory environment in the long term.

Moving forward multi stakeholders have to deliberately combine efforts to ensure that there is participatory extensive consultations in the review of the Mining Act 2003 to exhaustively address the current weaknesses and gaps for a sustainable and transformative mining sector that benefits all Ugandans. Additionally with a consideration that the cabinet of Uganda approved the accession of the Government of the Republic of Uganda to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative the principles of EITI should be adopted in the Mining Act to guide on revenue collection, transparency and accountability in the mining sector for the benefit of all citizens.

 

 

 

STRENGTHEN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS IN THE MINING SECTOR

 https://ecouganda.org/2017/06/03/strengthening-occupational-safety-and-health-standards-in-the-mining-sector/

By Phillo Aryatwijuka

STRENGTHEN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS IN THE MINING SECTOR

On 28^th April 2018 Uganda will join the rest of the world to celebrate annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work which promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally.  

The Uganda government through the Ministry Of Gender, Labour and Social Development  has a mandate under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, No. 9 of 2006 to ensure that all public and private workplaces, enterprises, companies, organizations adhere to safety and health measures.

Despite the presence of these laws, the mining sector in Uganda continues to be characterized by inadequate enforcement and compliance to occupational health and safety standards. The mining sector is largely informal with over a total of 200,000 ASM in mostly gold mining and development minerals.

A perfect example that relates to OSH challenges is reflected in Karamoja region ASM where miners use rudimentary methods and equipment in mining without protective gears.ASM miners have cited that the lack of protective gears not only because of ignorance on the need but limited finances to buy these gears since the earnings are usually very low coupled by the constant exploitations by middlemen.

Rudimentary methods in mining often leave open excavated pits which have a huge bearing on environmental degradation and have overtime caused several fatal accidents that on many occasions led to death. Open pits also collect huge amounts of stagnant water and provide breeding grounds for mosquitos causing malaria consequently increasing the mortality rate in these areas most especially infant mortality rates. These infant mortality rates are worsened by the fact that ASM is a family livelihood where women and children engage in mining. For pregnant and nursing mothers these mining sites do not have maternal and general health services. The situation is further worsened by the lack of WASH facilities at several mining sites making ASM susceptible to diseases. 

The ASM sector has been put on spotlight as a key perpetrator of child labour considering that mining has become a family livelihood just like agriculture. Child labour in mining which is associated with retardation and poor wellbeing in children. It should be noted that the nutrition at these mining sites is poor and sometimes both children and adults have one meal or not any a day.

Despite the presence of the international legal framework on OSH in gold mining like the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty that protects human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, the ASM gold mining sector in Uganda has continued to be marred by use of mercury by some gold miners which has a huge implication to the miners health, water and soil quality and overall destruction of critical ecosystems that are vital for human survival

On the other hand the expanding entry of ASM into mining of the development minerals; marble, limestone, gemstones, dimension stones is likely to worsen the issues of public health considering that Uganda is rich in development minerals and the construction sector is growing throughout the country. Mining development minerals like marble and limestone that dispel a lot of tiny dust particles have a health impact on ASM and communities and has been closely linked with diseases like tuberculosis therefore the need for without protective gears like dusk masks. These development minerals also involve a lot of processes like blasting, rock falls, raising dust particles which ultimately has impact on air, water and soil quality of the environment consequently a threat to public health

Moving forward the government needs to come out strongly and work with ASM and mining companies to strengthen the OSH standards by formalizing and regulating the ASM sector, provision of credit support to ASM groups to purchase protective gears, apprehend the users of mercury in gold mining, provide accessible health services to mining communities and strengthen OSH compliance through regular mine inspections of both ASM and mining companies by regulatory agencies by providing adequate funding and manpower.

 

 https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1468904/chance-life-cancer-patients-uganda

Is there a second chance to life for cancer patients in Uganda?

By Admin

Added 12th January 2018 02:59 PM

In the past three years, Uganda has lost several people to several types of cancer, some of which I knew or heard of either close or far-fetched and, of course, some very popular influential people that have tirelessly served this country in various areas.

By Phillo Aryatwijuka

HEALTH

At exactly 10 minutes past midnight on January 1, 2018, I gathered with the rest of my greater extended family to make a prayer of thanks to God for making us see the light of day in the year 2018. Before the prayers, each one of us was asked to voice out our prayer requests and it was not surprising that good health came on top of the list for most of the family members in a group of about 15 people myself inclusive.

Well what  is money, a relationship, a good job, success and the now popular ‘slaying' without good health that equates to life? All these are absolutely meaningless.

In the past three years, Uganda has lost several people to several types of cancer, some of which I knew or heard of either close or far-fetched and, of course, some very popular influential people that have tirelessly served this country in various areas.

In the past week, the reality of this scourge set in when a friend of mine was nursing her now late sister, young, brilliant mechanical engineer, whose life did not get a  second chance due to breast cancer.

Sadly in this reality, I asked myself what If that was me, my dad, my mum, my child, my husband or my friend would we get a second chance to life with the kind of cancer treatment facilities we have in Uganda and if the facilities are there could we afford the treatment?. My answers to those questions were NO!

Dr Jackson Orem, the executive director of the Uganda Cancer Institute is one of his interviews mentions that for every 100 new cases diagnosed, 80 of them die (80% mortality rate). He further cited that only 4% of every 100 suspected cases make it to the cancer institute due to lack of awareness amongst Ugandans on their status in addition to social economic barriers such as distance of the cancer institute from various parts of Uganda, as well as accessibility of drugs.

Ultimately, the food for thought to evaluate our vulnerability to cancer would be a simple question of if I got cancer today, would I get a second chance? That is the question every Ugandan should ask in the face of this scourge. If your answer is NO, like mine, the question would be if we are we going to wait to die or bury our loved ones.

Without doubt it is evident that an ordinary to a middle-income Ugandan cannot afford to comfortably cover expenses for that much-needed specialised cancer treatment either in Uganda or worse still, the now popular medical destination, India, save for a few Ugandans, who can afford it and other medical destinations in the world.
 
How many times and how long can we go on having car washing fundraisers to mobilise resources for our friends? What about those that do not have affluent friends and families to put up for them fundraisers?

Without question the Government needs to spring into action and prioritise the health sector through increasing the health sector budget, design and conduct massive civic education programmes on preventive measures, early detection, avail access to cancer facilities for early testing/detection, provide specialised cancer facilities, equip the cancer institute with drugs and most importantly, strengthen the human resource retention by provision of decent remuneration of cancer medical experts and caregivers.

It is only through some of those interventions that Ugandans can proudly face and fight cancer honourably. Cancer is no longer far-fetched to every Ugandan it is here!

ADRESS CHILD LABOUR IN UGANDA's MINING SECTOR

 https://chimpreports.com/opinion-address-child-labour-in-ugandas-mining-sector/

By Phillo Aryatwijuka, 

Behind the beautiful well-constructed houses, hotels, work places that we love and are proud of, to our beautiful gold accessories that we proudly wear there is a sad child labour story of a child miner who misses school and is exploited all day long. A story of one Aleper Paul who toils every day at Kosiroi Tororo Cement limestone Mining site in Moroto District to break the limestone rocks for cement companies to make for us building cement  to another story of Nakiru Veronica who works with her parents to break and pile marble at Rata Mining site in marble rich Rupa Sub county and sell to middlemen who in turn sell it to paint companies as a raw material for that beautiful paint you love on your walls and not forgetting a one Moru Paul a child gold Miner who survived a mine collapse accident last year just to bring us that much needed gold that ends up on one of our gold accessories that we love so much.

This is the price children are paying to survive as they provide raw materials for the construction sector needs mainly housing and big infrastructure projects like roads whose demand is growing tremendously in Uganda and across the region, the demand of development minerals; aggregates, dimension stones,sand,marble,limestone among others. The question is for how long can we keep silent as we watch our children being exploited and wasting away their future as they build the roads we enjoy driving on, the houses and cities we love?

Currently Uganda has in place a strong legal and regulatory framework pertaining to child labour particularly the Child Labour Policy 2016 and the National Action Plan for elimination of child labour which focuses on operationalizing the policy as well as other key laws like the Children’s Act 2016 and the employment Act. Uganda has further gone ahead to ratify the international Labour Organization (ILO) and other UN conventions on child labour. Despite this Child labour in mining which is categorized among the worst forms continues to be on the rise in the mining sector.

The recent study conducted by Ecological Christian Organization (ECO) in the gold mining areas of Moroto shows that mining contributes to low school attendance and low retention in schools. Children from as young as 5-16years are spending their time carrying out activities like fetching water a main ingredient in gold mining for as far as 5 kilometer from the mining sites to doing underground excavation work as well as panning. The effects of this work translate to health problems like chest pains, extreme fatigue, and external wounds among others in the children. It’s not surprising that when one visits the mining sites there is always astonishment when a child mentions their age. My surprise came with my first encounter with one  15 year old Nandonga Regina a child Miner from Lomario village in Rupa mineral rich sub county who at that time looked like 10 years and that clearly reflected to retardation in growth.

Without doubt the Government of Uganda needs to rise up to this challenge with support and collaboration from different stakeholders and holistically address child labour in the mineral sector. A perfect example being addressing the resource constraints experienced by the local governments labour offices which are poorly underfunded to carry out inspections, monitoring and follow ups of child labour related cases to ensure that mining sites a child labour free. The other opportunity lies in the new mining policy of Uganda 2018 which speaks to organizing, licensing and regulating artisanal and small scale mining in Uganda which can largely contribute to elimination of child labour in ASM value chains by holding the ASM accountable

IT’S TIME TO PASS THE NEW MINERAL AND MINING POLICY

 

https://chimpreports.com/its-time-to-pass-the-new-mineral-and-mining-policy/

By Aryatwijuka Phillo, Program Officer,  

IT’S TIME TO PASS THE NEW MINERAL AND MINING POLICY

The recent report released by Global Witness on the Uganda’s mining sector cites a lot of concerns and irregularities in the mineral sector. Despite this Ugandans should appreciate that the Ugandan government has made progress in promoting and developing the budding sector in the past 10 years. Notably is carrying out the review of the mining policy 2001, Implementation of the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project that conducted airborne geophysical surveys for the biggest part of the country, establishment of the mining Cadaster and Registry System, decentralizing the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines operations at regional levels and attracting some big mining investments like the USD 560 Sukulu phosphate project among others.

According to CNN news, in reaction to this report a spokesperson for the MEMD acknowledged problems with the licensing process and affirmed that it’s under review. “Some of the issues raised by the report such as licensing are brought about because of weaknesses and loopholes in mining policy and laws," the spokesman said. "The ministry is currently reviewing these policies and we hope that some of these challenges will be cleaned up."

 

The Uganda mining policy 2001 has been under review for the past three years. The review process involved a wide range of stakeholders in the consultative process. Currently the final draft mineral and mining policy 2016 is in place awaiting cabinet approval. This new draft mining policy addresses most of the gaps and irregularities cited in the licensing process, lack of formalization and regulation for ASM miners, revenue sharing, the issues of occupational health and safety, environment and protected areas among others

The question now is how long should Ugandans wait for the new policy that would address some of the key pertinent issues in the mining sector to be passed? For how long should the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining sector wait to be recognized and supported in recognition of its contribution to the production of more than 90% of metallic, industrial and building minerals and provision livelihoods of over 200,000 ASM?

Without question the government should prioritize the approval of the final draft mineral and mining policy 2016 and the subsequent review and approval of the Uganda’s Mining Act 2003 and regulations 2004. This will streamline and address some of the issues that are brought about by the current weak legal and regulatory regime in the mining sector in Uganda.

Karamoja’s budding mining sector reflects perfectly to the urgent need for a strong legal and regulatory framework considering that 64% of the land area is already under concessions despite the area not being covered by the airborne geo physical survey whose prospect could increase the concessions area land coverage. The strong implication of the weak legal regime in booming mining sector over such a big area in one of the poorest and vulnerable has a huge correlation with increased abuse of land/surface rights, indigenous rights, child exploitation, revenue sharing and environmental degradation among others.   

Considering that Karamoja has a delicate environment with evidently limited water resources and yet some of the lucrative minerals like gold mining that requires huge amounts of water, there is fear that communities will be more affected by water scarcity. Already in some mining areas mercury is being used in gold mining which is detrimental to human health.

Ultimately strengthening Uganda’s mining legal and regulatory framework could go a long way in ensuring that sustainability of the mining sector for the benefit of all Ugandans.

Develop the Neglected development minerals sector

 

https://chimpreports.com/opinion-develop-the-neglected-development-minerals-sector/

Develop the Neglected development minerals sector

Many of us live and work in structures constructed from neglected development minerals (industrial minerals; construction materials; dimension stones; and semi-precious stones). Again Ugandans own land that we sometimes call stony, sandy and not suitable for agriculture and yet this is all wealth. The neglected development minerals without doubt have close link with the local economy, and have potential to generate more local and accessible jobs for young people with a greater impact on poverty reduction.

For the past 10 years neglected development minerals have played a crucial role in Uganda’s economy through provision of raw materials for the construction sector, employment for ASM miners and widening the tax base. It should be noted that the construction industry in Uganda has grown from 2.5% past financial year to 5.7% this financial year (UBOS). This is attributed to urban areas that are mushrooming everywhere with 18% of Ugandans living in urban areas (UBOS 2014). On the other hand the government is undertaking a wide range of big energy and transport projects, including highways, hydropower dams and now a proposed crude oil pipeline and a refinery.

Similarly Global Construction 2025 predicts that emerging construction markets will see growth of 3 to 6% per year. In total, construction in 2025 is expected to exceed the value of $15 trillion and Sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to be the second-highest growth region

This global construction trend is a big economic opportunity for Uganda that is rich in development minerals like sand that is widely used in all construction projects .Without doubt these neglected development minerals can bring us closer to achievement of SDG 9 that is emphatic on infrastructure development, Uganda vision 2040 and Africa Mining Vision.

For this to be achieved neglected development minerals have to be properly regulated and managed to provide employment, increase tax base and sustainably managed taking into consideration the environmental impact of extraction of these minerals.

In Uganda’s case the widely un regulated sector has experienced challenges a perfect example being is the recent concerns about illegal sand mining in Lwera that has raised a lot of concerns most of which were focused on the environmental perspective with less analysis on the economic losses Uganda has made from such un regulated ventures .

According to the United Nations, the annual global consumption of sand amounts to an estimated 40 billion tons, with the global building sector accounting for 75%.This makes sand and gravel the most-used natural resource in the world after water more than oil and gas (2014 United Nations Environment Program report). This is more reason to regulate sand mining in Uganda and other neglected minerals because of the constant ever growing demand, economic value and their adverse effect their extraction has on the environment.

On Uganda’s part several initiatives have been put in place by the government and key stakeholders to facilitate the development of this sector like the recent review of the mineral policy which has embedded key principles on neglected development minerals development and regulation in the draft final mineral policy. On the other hand government of Uganda through the Ministry of Energy and mineral development together with development partners have rolled out the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme which focuses on supporting the small-scale private sector, mining, public institutions and communities in Uganda that operate in the low value mining and materials sector. This programme has special focus on capacity building. Such great initiatives are expected to propel the sector to the next level.

Member of the country working group on ACP-EU development minerals programme.(2016-2019)

 

LESSONS FROM THE ALBERTINE REGION COULD HELP DELIVER THE OIL PROMISE TO COMMUNITIES IN KARAMOJA

 

https://chimpreports.com/opinion-lessons-from-the-albertine-region-could-help-deliver-the-oil-promise-to-communities-in-karamoja/

By Aryatwijuka Phillo,  

LESSONS FROM THE ALBERTINE REGION COULD HELP DELIVER THE OIL PROMISE TO COMMUNITIES IN KARAMOJA

The reality of the effects of oil exploration hit Uganda’s Albertine region hard with the discovery of commercial quantities of oil and gas in 2006.From the big infrastructure projects that saw acquisition of over 29sq.km of land and consequently the displacement of over 7000 families in Kabaale Buseruka Hoima to the displacement of over 250 families in Rwamutonga to pave way for a waste treatment facility ,to the wave endless allegations by host communities on land grabbing ,in adequate and unfair compensation across the Albertine region.

The official announcement last year by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) on the much anticipated oil and gas exploration in Moroto –Kadam basin in Karamoja was followed by impressive best practice by MEMD of carrying out sensitization amongst the oil exploration communities in Moroto-Kadam basin. This announcement created a lot of positive and negative expectations amongst communities in Karamoja with the biggest fear being land rights violations considering that the land tenure system in Karamoja is communal and is susceptible to land rights abuses. One Karamajong elder at a recent dialogue alluded to one of the questions raised by an elder at the sensitization meetings who said that “we have not been able to see the economic from minerals like these rocks that we can see, those that don’t lie beneath the surface like marble and limestone but they have been continuously exploited without tangible benefits for the community what about oil that you cannot even see?

Considering that Uganda has treaded the road of oil and gas exploration since 2006 the Karamajong communities and Ugandans at large expect well-coordinated oil exploration activities that are cognizant with the rights and benefits of host communities on the premise that the government has learnt valuable lessons ,better practices which are further reinforced by the presence of the legal and regulatory framework that was absent in 2006 specifically oil and gas policy 2008, the petroleum exploration, development and production act 2013 ,the Public Finance and Management Act and the Land Policy 2013 that speaks to some of the key questions relating to land rights.

The question now remains if the Moroto Kadam host communities are ready for oil exploration. Do they understand their rights? Do the local governments understand their roles and responsibilities in these oil exploration processes? Are the District land boards of the districts within the Moroto Kadam basin functional and do they have the capacity to address any land related issues that may arise? Answering these questions will address some of the impending challenges that could arise from exploration

Ultimately communities expect that any land acquisition for large infrastructure projects within the region should respect the indigenous livelihoods and rights of communities to land by facilitating fair, prompt and adequate compensation processes. Communities further need access to timely information to enable them participate effectively in oil sector decision making processes that directly affect them. It’s through access to timely transparent information that mistrust issues within different stakeholder groups that have ensued in the Albertine region over the last 14 years can be avoided.

On the other hand protection of the critical ecosystems in Karamoja during exploration should be put at the forefront by ensuring that best practices from oil exploration in the Albertine are also translated in Karamoja region to avoid biodiversity loss and promote environmental integrity.

Moving forward with the extensive extractive resources across Karamoja and Uganda as a whole the transparency and accountability mechanisms could further be strengthened by the Uganda joining the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI)