Africa-Press – Uganda. Leaders of Buhweju have asked government to gazette the district as a mining area and streamline the industry to enable locals benefit from the lucrative business.
The district chairperson, Mr Deo Atuhaire, on Tuesday said foreigners and a few rich individuals dominate gold mining in the district, adding that locals have benefitted little from it.
“For 100 years, people have been here mining gold and taking it. The owners of mines here are ministers, commissioners and other big people. They are happily making profits in the business as the people of Buhweju continue to suffer.
“I ask the government to declare that Buhweju is a gold mining area, not a gold exploration area because exploration licences have been abused,” said Mr Atuhaire.
He said locals were being exploited by the mining companies.
“The problem is with the government of Uganda, not Buhweju. If you go to Bihanga, where gold is mined, people are very poor. The district is supposed to be getting loyalties which would be used to improve services in the district such as schools, health centres, and roads,” he said.
Mr Francis Nuwajuna, the district councillor representing Rwengwe Sub-county, told this publication on Wednesday that residents in the mining areas have been illegally evicted.
“Individuals come here escorted by security personnel and you cannot ask them anything because no one will give you answers. Surprisingly, residents are evicted and chased from areas where these miners suspect to be having plenty of gold. This is unfair to the people of Buhweju,” he said.
Mr Atuhaire asked the central government to gazette Buhweju as a mining area, saying this would enable the enforcement of mining laws. He added that this would enable the district to benefit from its mineral resources.
The Buhweju District United Miners Cooperative Society Limited spokesperson, Mr Deusdedit Beinomugisha, on Wednesday said the individuals involved in mining never declare what they get yet the government licensed them to explore and prospect.
“We have been fighting for a long time but we lack support and protection. As far as I know, no company has ever been licensed to mine. They come exploring and end up stealing everything. Such companies should be investigated and the central government should be engaged on this,” he said.
Efforts by this newspaper to get a comment from Mr Vincent Kedi, the assistant commissioner for licensing in the Geological Survey Directorate and Mines in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, were futile by press time yesterday.
Last week, four people died and one person was injured after a gold mine collapsed.
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