Vubwi cries for small-scale gold mining licenses

Sat, 24 Jun 2017 12:19:05 +0000

BY MAILESI BANDA

GOVERNMENT should consider empowering small scale mining companies by giving licenses and financial support for the development of the local mining sector, a community member from Vubwi, Clenstatia Banda, has said.

Ms. Banda said the mining of gold in Vubwi had been going on for years, adding that the sector faced the challenge of machinery.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation, Ms Banda said the people in the area were not truly benefiting from the mining of gold. She said foreigners were coming to the area and buying the gold cheaply due to the illegality of the trade. “There has been a discovery of gold in Pembamoyo area of Vubwi and ever since the discovery was made we have seen foreigners who come with sophisticated machines and are getting away with the minerals,“she said.

She said the locals were willing to engage in the mining of gold as cooperative but faced the challenge of finance.

Ms Banda lamented that foreigners were conniving with the headmen who sold the land to them. She said the people were ready to be licensed miners and contribute to the economic growth of the country.

She appealed to Government to be transparent in the issuance of mining licenses.

“The Government should ensure that there is transparency in the issuance of licenses and avoid giving mining licenses to foreigners who will only export the gold without benefiting the local people,“ she said.

She challenged the Zambia Environmental Management Agency to go to the area and empower the miners with knowledge on the impact of mining on the environment.