Blow to artisanal quartz miners in Wundanyi as government suspends operations

Voi, Friday, June 23, 2023

KNA by Wagema Mwangi

The government has suspended quartz mining by 23 artisanal mining groups in Kishushe in Wundanyi sub-county following fears of possible violence arising from claims of ownership dispute between two rival groups.

The stop-order that halted the operations for Kishushe Mining CBO at Kengecha area was issued to the distraught miners on Thursday evening by Wundanyi sub-county Deputy County Commissioner Maina Ngunyi who was accompanied by the sub-county security team and mining officials.

While addressing the miners at the site, the DCC alleged that a rival mining group was also claiming the same specific mining zone; a situation that raised the possibility of conflict.

The administrator stated that the operations would remain suspended until the dispute is resolved.

“Whenever there is a possibility of conflict in any area, all operations must cease until the dispute is resolved. This is what we are doing here,” he said.

However, hundreds of members of Kishushe Miming CBO who work at the mining site dismissed the allegations of dispute as wild and malicious rumors being fueled by business rivals to disrupt the artisanal miners’ activities in the region.

Ms. Matilda Waleghwa, a miner, explained that there was no single dispute in that mining area; a fact that was well-known to the local security officials. She challenged the police to name whoever had made the malicious report which she said was designed to derail their operations.

Terming the report as sabotage, she cautioned government officials in the region against being sucked into trade wars by business rivals whose intention was to wreck mining activities and render over 500 local residents jobless.

Mrs. Waleghwa further stated that some local politicians with interest in mining were trying to frustrate artisanal miners by using unsuspecting government agencies to intimidate them and force them to shut down their operations.

“There is no conflict here. We are the legitimate owners of this mine but some people are trying to use police and security agencies to frustrate our work,” she said.

She noted that for many years, artisanal miners in the region had been exploited by brokers and middlemen without any meaningful gain. It was only when the miners came together and decided to source for the market directly without involving brokers and ‘mining godfathers’ that malicious reports started to be sent to the authorities.

“This is pure malice. There are people doing quartz mining around here but they remain untouched. Sadly, when artisanal miners finally manage to get their buyer without going through middlemen, they are branded a security threat. This discrimination and misuse of government officials to intimidate us should stop,” she stated.

Mr. Joshua Mwawasi, a miner, claimed there was a plot hatched by politicians in cahoots with some government officials to frustrate quartz mining by artisanal miners. He said that a driver who had come to collect quartz had been attacked by known goons to create the impression of conflict and force the authorities to act.

“Those criminals who attempted to attack the driver were sponsored by politicians who look at our empowerment as a threat. They are now using the police to harass people doing legitimate work,” he said.

The Kishushe Mining CBO is one of the biggest mining groups in the region with over 500 members. It is a consortium of 23 smaller CBOs that focuses on mining quartz in the region. The CBO was primarily formed to streamline the mining operations, enhance miners’ unity and actively seek markets for their products.

Two months ago, the CBO sealed a deal with an international buyer to buy their products. According to the officials, the buyer is purchasing a ton of quartz at Sh3, 000. He is also paying Sh 1,000 per loader for every container filled. So far, the group had managed to sell over 30 tons before their operations were halted.

Quartz is used in making jewellery, glass, watches and clocks. It is also used to make glass pieces for microscopes, telescopes and lasers.

Mr. Gabriel Mcharo, a veteran miner and buyer, termed it as unfair for the government to deploy state resources to deny hundreds of poverty-stricken local residents a key source of livelihood.

“These are people who are here to feed their families and they have been working here for months. Stopping their activities is to deny them livelihoods,” he said.

Taita-Taveta Regional Mining Officer (RMO) David Irungu said the Mining Act of 2013 stipulated the requirements needed for groups to engage in mining activities.

He pointed out that apart from acquiring land consent from the owners, the groups needed to have other documents including National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) licenses, a detailed work program, mine closure and rehabilitation program, geological surveys and KRA tax compliance certificates.

He added that those legal documents were required to license miners but most artisanal miners operated without them.

“The issue of compliance is important but some groups have not met some of those conditions yet they are engaged in mining,” he explained.

To address the dispute, the government had called for a crisis meeting on Tuesday next week with all stakeholders involved.

The DCC said that the meeting would establish the truth of the alleged dispute and provide a way forward.

Courtesy ; K. N. A