The mining services industry is a vital source of economic activity and jobs in Uganda, and a major contributor to national income and wealth creation. Technical and business innovation is continually needed to maintain the industry’s international competitiveness and to ensure that mining is conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner that is aligned with society’s expectations. 

For a while now, mining has been dominated by artisanal and small scale mining around different parts of the country. To engage these miners, District Natural Resources and Environmental officers have been brought on board to assume the central government’s position on a number of issues that affect the ASM. The government is in the process of amending the Mining Policy 2001 and Mining Act 2003. 

A draft Mining and Mineral Policy 2016 was distributed among different stakeholders for review before tabling it to Cabinet. Illegal mining has many drawbacks and no easy solutions; those who take part are often just as much victims of the industry as the country in which they operate. But, something must be done about the great loss of life that follows these illegal operations, the environmental damage and the criminal practices associated with it. Government is working towards formalizing ASMs through registration, licensing and regulation. 

This is also intended to promote ASMs’ coexistence with other mineral rights-holders in the country. The Directorate of Geological Survey and Mining has inefficiencies – they are understaffed with mining inspectors not adequately facilitated to traverse the whole country. It is therefore importantly urged for the government to work with the local government officers at such instances. 

The mineral sector in Uganda hasn’t largely been tapped. For example in most parts of the country, there are occurrences of development minerals. Development Minerals are an indispensable source of employment, providing a source of livelihood to Ugandans and the government if well regulated and monitored. 

These are minerals and materials that are mined, processed, manufactured and used domestically in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. Development Minerals have a high degree of economic linkage and utilization close to the location where the commodity is mined. Article 224 of the Mining Act 2003, although it cites these minerals, it does not accord them similar significance as the other minerals, yet they are of high commercial value.

Development minerals are regarded as Low Value Minerals and Materials (LVMM) due to their relatively low price as a function of their weight. In areas where mostly sand mining is taking place, there are issues of destruction of the environment while using complex machinery also immensely destroying he ecosystem due to lack of compliance and land evictions. 

It is going to be a hard task for the government if it doesn’t directly involve the local governments to gather royalties from the miners. It is thus paramount for the government to come up with strategies of having record of the mined minerals plus also set up guidelines on how they should levy fees from the different mining activities. 

Joseph Ahimbisibwe

For many years, complaints from the communities are that Tororo cement has destroyed the environment, trees cut and affected without being replaced, people being displaced without resettlement and compensation. 

This arises from the notion that prior to operation in the region, the communities were not consulted and consent was agreed upon. In July of last year for example, the community blocked Tororo Cement from accessing the site in Kosiroi village over low prices, land compensation and surface rights. The stormy event compelled the state minister for minerals, Peter Lokeris, to hold a crisis meeting with the parties involved including officials for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

They said for a long time, Tororo Cement has been extracting marble stones in the area but refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the community or the district leaders. Mr David Omido, the logistics and utility manager at Tororo Cement, admitted they did not have any MoU with either the district administration or the local community.

However, former Moroto LC5 chairperson Mark Musoka said his office had drafted an MoU and asked Tororo Cement to facilitate the process. Several months later, however, there is still no formal agreement in sight, with individual interests taking centre stage. David acknowledged receipt the draft MoU but notes that his team is yet to peruse it and respond accordingly.

The political interference has clouded concerns of land acquisition by Tororo Cement. Information obtained on the ground indicates that Tororo Cement did not pay for the land surface rights as required in the Mining Act, 2003.

Community members demand that TCL should first clears the surface rights issues before any agreement is signed with the community. They acknowledge that whereas Tororo Cement tried to consult the community at first on the 12-square-kilometre piece of land, no money was paid and yet the company has kept on extending its activities to occupy more land.

Within Tapac Sub County, Tororo Cement now claims ownership of close to 50 square kilometres without any knowledge of the land owners. This is arising questions how they acquired the land, their compensation strategies, land owner displacement without consideration of their livelihoods.

On the question of acquiring a mining lease, Edwards Katto Kagimba, the head of Geological Survey and Mines in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, agreed that there were some errors at the time when Tororo Cement got a mining lease from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

On record, Tororo Cement has two mining leases in Tapac but no surface rights have been paid for any. The Mining Act, 2003 indicates that the company applying for the mining lease should have Secured surface rights of the land that is the subject of the application. This still raises compelling questions on how their operations run, environmental mitigation measures occupational health and safety standards and of course royalty collection to the government.

Joseph AHIMBISIBWE

MOROTO – District and Municipal leaders of Moroto have been trained on how to effectively bargain for land compensation.

The training supported by Advocates for Natural Resources and Development (ANARDE) in partnership with Avocat sans frontiers (ASF) on Wednesday at Lavender Hotel in Moroto was aimed at equipping districts officials and community leaders with knowledge on the development of compensation rates for crops and semi-permanent structures in Moroto District.

Moses Lote one of the participants hailed Anarde officials for organising the training saying on many occasions people of Moroto have been cheated in land compensations.

He said lack of knowledge on proper compensation bargaining has rendered several families in Karamoja landless and they end up as squatters because they are paid peanuts in compensation that cannot help them find land elsewhere.

Mr. Jackson Angella a resident of Rupa Sub County in Moroto District said the training has come at the right time since several investors have taken over land in the name of investment without compensating the owners of the property.

“We are very happy for this training because initially we had no knowledge on how to bargain for proper compensation and this has made our people get paid little money and lose a lot of land and their houses, crops are destroyed without meaningful gaining, “he said.

Mr. Michael Omara the programme officer Anarde told the participants that article 26 of the constitution provides for the right to protection from deprivation of property.

“We hope that this training will help to contribute to archiving, fostered public participation for populations affected by natural resources management,” he said.

Mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining has negative effects on human health and the environment. Prolonged and high exposure to mercury by inhalation damages the nervous, digestive, and immune systems. When ingested, mercury can accumulate in living organisms, and cause serious damage to the nervous system after it reaches high levels. In Moroto, the current gold rush has resulted in considerably large mercury emissions. Mercury is used to recover minute pieces of gold that is mixed in soil and sediments. Mercury and gold settle and combine together to form an amalgam. Gold is then extracted by vaporizing the mercury. To reduce the use of mercury and the subsequent health impact to gold miners and local inhabitants, knowledge and awareness in the community should be increased.

In December 2019, we rolled out an awareness raising program to evaluate the level of knowledge on mercury, potential routes of exposure, health risks for children versus adults, mercury related health effects, reproductive risks and effects on the environment.  in partnership with Avocats Sans Frontières. together with the community-based volunteers. Before the volunteers engaged with the miners, they were carefully selected and trained on several concepts that ranged from dangers of mercury use to cleaner and safer alternative practices. The objective is to help artisanal gold miners reduce and or eliminate the use of mercury in gold mining, and reduce harmful risks to their health and the environment

This move came at a time when across the country, from Mubende to Busia and Karamoja, thousands of Ugandans, including children and women, have increasingly flooded small gold mines in the quest of a living. Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is the largest use of mercury in the world. Mercury emissions to air from ASGM are estimated at 727 tonnes annually, making this the largest emitting sector, accounting for more than 35% of global man-made air emissions. Additionally, over 800 tons are reportedly released directly to aquatic systems according to the Technical Background Report for the Global Mercury Assessment 2013 by UNEP. The small-scale gold mining industry is a vital source of income, though on the other hand very dangerous as there is a creeping threat of mercury which is used across the country to those that eke a living in the gold mines.

In Loolung, a small-scale gold mining site located in Rupa Sub County, we saw with our own eyes how miners, including children mix the mercury into the ore with their bare hands, create a gold-mercury amalgam, and then burn the amalgam over an open flame. This in ignorance has shimmering effects on the health and lives of these miners.

Some children are exposed to mercury from the moment there are in their mother’s wombs as some children lamented how they have always suffered from consistent headaches and dizziness. Awosit Marita one of the women miners said that she didn’t know that mercury was dangerous and to what extent the exposure may have on her health. She narrates how her vision has been deteriorating and how she can barely write something due to the increased shaking of her hands, clear symptoms of mercury exposure. The primary health effect of mercury is impaired neurological development. Therefore, cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills may be affected in humans most especially children who were exposed to mercury as foetuses.

Beyond the health risks, mercury affects the aquatic life and causes toxic pollution to water sources and soils which bioaccumulates and biomagnifies especially in the aquatic ecosystem. Recent evidence suggests that mercury is responsible for a reduction of micro-biological activity vital to the terrestrial food chain in soils over large parts of Europe – and potentially in many other places in the world with similar soil characteristics, according to the Global Mercury Assessment Report 2018.

Growing concerns about gold mining induced mercury contamination, which led to international actions, including the Minamata Convention in 2013 which came officially into force on 16 August 2017. Article 16 of this convention relates to human health and it encourages identifying all possible human populations affected by mercury pollution, adopting health guidelines to regulate mercury exposure, and providing education about the risks of mercury exposure. The government of Uganda on Friday March 1,2019 deposited its instrument of ratification pledging her contribution towards reducing release of mercury to the environment according to Ecogreen News.

Under the socio-economic and political conditions found in the small-scale gold mining operation, the use of mercury is often considered as the easiest and most cost-effective solution for gold separation. However, this program sought to educate the miners on the alternatives of mercury, despite the dangers it has on their health and environment. Gold is heavier than most other particles, so alternative methods typically use motion or water to separate the gold from lighter particles. These include panning, sluicing, chemical leaching and smelting.

Recommendations

As Uganda moves towards curbing the rate of mercury exposure, policies need to strongly be revised. In for example, the draft Mining and Minerals bill 2019, formalization and regularization of the sector should be a major part towards the major cause of mercury reduction. Along with funding community initiatives, the complex political and economic incentives that drive mercury trade and mercury use must as well be addressed. Baseline information about, for example, knowledge levels and mercury exposures in different gold mining sites in the country, is key in formulating effective strategies towards tackling mercury emissions.

A signatory to the convention has obligations to undertake in reducing and where feasible eliminating, the use of mercury and mercury compounds in ASGM. As part of these is developing a National Action Plan (NAP) which contains national objectives and reduction targets, specific actions to eliminate the worst practices, steps to formalize or regulate ASGM among others. The draft Mining and Minerals bill 2019 ment

CER admitted as amicus in appeal of troubling judgment against mining-affected community  

On 13 February 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) admitted the Centre for Environmental Rights as an amicus curiae (friend of the court)?in an appeal by the Global Environment Trust and Others against a 2018 judgement of the Pietermaritzburg High Court. In that judgment now under appeal, the court had refused to grant an interdict application brought by the Applicants against Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd and had ordered public interest litigants to pay the legal costs of the coal mining company.

The CER intervened in the matter because of its concerns that the judgment opened the door for mining companies to operate illegally. The CER is also concerned that the negative costs order against public interest litigants would discourage communities from approaching the courts to defend their constitutional rights through the fear of being debilitated by having to pay the legal costs of industry and the State.  

Community volunteers in Karamoja Sub-region have been equipped with digital tools to monitor human rights violations in mining fields.  

The 20 volunteers, also known as human rights monitors, received the digital and legal tools during a three-day regional training on community-based monitoring extractives by Advocates for Natural Resource and Development (ANARDE) in conjunction with Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASF) in Mbale District. 

The training, which was organised at the weekend, covered key areas of environment, human rights, gender equality, benefits of sharing, and natural resource management.  

The human rights monitors were from community-based organisations in the mining hotspots of Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, Napak Nabilatuk, and Nakapiripirit.

They were equipped with digital smart phones for field monitoring, and are coordinated centrally with an ODK Kobo Collect App to ensure accuracy and consistency.

Mr Frank Tumusiime, the coordinator at ANARDE, said the phones will be used to collect the data by feeding in questionnaires in the App, which will be sent to the central server.

The phone is also connected to a GPS system, where real time data from mining fields will be collected. The data entered will be validated against the existing data.  

“The information will be analysed so that we come up with reports on the current human rights status on the ground. This will be real time data from the ground, and these monitors are spread out in mining communities,” he said.

Mr Tumusiime said this is meant to eliminate any inconsistency and provide credibility of research.

Mining violations

Mr Tumusiime said the journey started in 2017 by the Netherlands and Belgium Development Corporation with the desire to promote access to justice and respect for human rights for mining communities in Karamoja.

He said the first form of violation is environmental degradation, for instance pollution of water bodies affecting the aquatic life, soil, forest cover, and also waste disposal associated with mining.

“We want them to understand the environmental violations, the revenue management aspects, and corporate accountability by checking which companies are liable, and how to work with administrative agencies,” he said.

Mr Tumusiime added that female miners are paid less compared to their male counterparts, and exploited sexually.   

Ms Josephine Lokongo, a human rights monitor from Rupa Sub-county in Moroto District, said women and children are disadvantaged in the mining  sector, a trend the human rights monitors should reverse.

“Women are so vulnerable, yet we are the majority who provide labor for both artisanal and mining companies. We are the ones who meet their household needs but are underpaid,” she said.

Ms Lokongo also said Karamoja women are not benefiting from surface rights compensation from mining compani

0/03/2021

In 2019, Uganda became the first nation in Africa to recognise the rights of Nature in national legislation under Section 4 of the National Environment Act (2019). 

Now, in western Uganda, Indigenous Bagungu communities, traditional leaders and Buliisa District Council have gone a step further, pioneering legislation to protect sacred natural sites and recognise the customary laws of the Bagungu People. 

These customary laws inherently safeguard Nature’s rights to exist, thrive and evolve. Their recognition at local level could be a paradigm-shifting precedent. 

Uganda is now well placed to lead the way towards decolonised, ecocentric governance on the continent, rooted in the diverse knowledge and governance systems of Africa’s Indigenous and traditional communities.

At the foot of Mt Moroto lies a precious mineral - marble. The mineral spreads across the bedrock of Karamoja sub-region from Amudat district across Moroto, Kotido and Kaabong districts into South Sudan, according to the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

Some companies artisanal miners allegedly claim that Sun Belt, a mining company in Karamoja, pushes them to the fringes of the mining fields.

For more details follow this link: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/business/prosper/how-firms-are-scrambling-for-karamoja-s-mineral-wealth-3350536

Uganda’s move aims to protect biodiversity from a mega oil project that it says will improve people’s lives.

Carving through equatorial East Africa, the Albertine Rift supports some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. This colossal network of mountains, valleys, wetlands, and savannah comprises just over one percent of the African continent’s landmass, yet claims more than half of its birds, 40 percent of its mammals, and some 500 species of plant and animal found nowhere else.

In the northern sector of this geologic wonder, a craggy escarpment rolls down to a grassy plain, flanked by Lake Albert on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Murchison Falls National Park, one of Africa’s natural treasures. There, on that sweeping expanse, and partly inside the park, two oil giants are making final preparations to tap into the vast reserves of crude that lie below the rift.

In a special way, Advocates for Natural Resources and Development (ANARDE) welcomes you to the 3^rd Edition of her News Bulletin. Because of the need to keep a track record on the major activities implemented; raising awareness and generate debate on the key concerns raised in our fields of operation, we always feel that a publication of this sort is a necessity.

We wish to extend our vote of thanks to the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD); the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA) and the European Commission for their immense financial support towards making our Extractive Justice and Nature Conservation programmes a reality.

We also appreciate the Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) for her formidable partnership in implementing two projects namely; “Promoting Sustainable Development Goals by Strengthening Access to Justice in Uganda 2017-2021”, and “Empowering communities and civil society to demand for good governance in natural resource management” supported by the Belgium Development Cooperation and the European Union respectively.  The Gaia foundation are also great partners in promoting Earth Jurisprudence and securing the recognition of Rights of Nature in Uganda. In a special way, we owe our success to our national and grass root partners especially in Karamoja region and Albertine Graben who have been so instrumental in setting up the right environment for our project activities.

Special tribute goes to the project implementation team at our secretariat for the immeasurable commitment in ensuring that we meet all the target objectives and outcomes.  I take the honor to invite all to read and share with all persons and or organizations. For any comments and or editorials, please address them to; info@anarde.org. 

COURT REJECTS ATTEMPTS BY OIL GIANT TOTAL ENERGIES E&P FROM BLOCKING INDIGENT LAND OWNERS TO PETITION COURT OVER NON-PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR LOST SURFACE RIGHTS TO THEIR LAND

After a four-year battle, Total (E & P) Ug Limited has been thumped in a case filed by disgruntled project affected persons (PAPs) in its oil and gas exploration exercise in the Albertine Graben.

While exploring for oil and gas around 2013, Total destroyed large tracts of land bearing crops belonging to residents of Ngwendo Sub-county, Buliisa District. The crops included maize, cotton, simsim, and ground nuts and over 103 residents were never compensated while those who received compensation received inadequate pay. 

In 2016, with the aid of Advocates for Natural resourced and Development (ANARDE), the 103 residents dragged Total (E & P) Uganda Limited to the High Court of Uganda at Masindi, seeking for declarations of violations of their rights, payment for compensation for their lost crops as well as damages for damage done to the surface of their land.

JUST IN: ANARDE meets with the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on the Mining and Minerals bill, 2021!!!

As we fast track the developments in the Minerals and mining industry in Uganda, a lot more attention should be put towards the speed at which these laws attributed to extractive developments are being passed in consideration of the amount of time given for public consultations. The Mining and Minerals bill 2021 is under preparation for a second reading before parliament after the first reading that happened on the 18th November 2021. 

On this day, the committee has been given a period of about a week to discuss the bill after a few considerations have been already been adopted in the bill. Has the bill been given ample time for discussion before it can be passed? 

A public notice calling upon any member of the general public who may wish to submit memoranda on the Mining and Minerals Bill 2021 which currently is being considered by the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Environment and Natural Resources was issued. Comments are still welcome as we prepare to present our position to the committee. 

Find attached an invitation from the Parliament of Uganda. 

Issued on 8th February, 2022.

Together with our partners from Avocats Sans Frontières with support from the European Union, join us on Friday, the 25th February 2022 at 9 am for the a Multi-stakeholder conference on Business and Human Rights.

The Conference on Business and Human Rights will gather policy makers, civil society actors, and activists from Karamoja and Albertine Grabben/Bunyoro, as well as International CSOs to engage key stake-holders (state and non-state actors) on key findings and recommendations formulated in the Community Based Human Rights Impact Assessment (CBHRIA) report and draw an action plan for further actions. 

Register here

Read more from here: https://asf.be/fr/a-multi-stakeholder-conference-on-business-and-human-rights-a-human-rights-based-approach-to-natural-resource-governance-online/ 

The report highlights challenges and/ or constraints in the management and administration of mineral royalties which partly explains the persistent low levels of livelihood in Karamoja despite is rich mineral endowment. Against this background, the report proposes a legal and regulatory framework that may contribute to maximization of returns from Uganda’s rich mineral endowment and more so benefit the Karamoja mining communities.

The study proposes ways through which royalties can yield social and economic benefits and improve livelihoods of mineral rich communities in Karamoja. The report demonstrates that this may be achieved in part by ensuring an economically efficient mining industry, while at the same time designing an appropriate collection and distribution mechanism for mineral royalties. In the final analysis, the report proposes recommendations for effective access and utilization of mineral royalties in Karamoja. The role of local governments and other stake holders to monitor and implement the collection and use of royalties is emphasized.

This report emphasizes that transparency, participation, openness and accountability are linchpins in ensuring that royalties are utilized for the benefit of local communities.

Please read more in the pdf file attached. 

Sacred natural sites and territories are naturally occurring areas of land or water that are held to have spiritual significance by certain communities. They form part of a broader sets of cultural values or traditional ways of life for given societies or communities. With the ever-mounting pressure for economic development, industrial activities, infrastructure development and demographic changes, sacred places are on the brink of permanent destruction. Yet these are focal points for cultural identity and diversity as well as strong biodiversity conservation. Africa as a region, through the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted Resolution 372 of 2017 to preserve and protect Sacred Natural Sites and territories (SNST). The Resolution provides for protection to be achieved through entrenching customary governance systems into laws to protect SNST. This article analyses the resolution and how African countries can fit such customary governance systems into current legal regimes that are remnants of a colonial epoch. The article relies on case studies of how SNST have been recognised in certain African jurisdictions such as Benin and Ethiopia. It also relies on case studies of countries such as Uganda and Kenya where the author participated in promulgation of laws to protect these sites. It is the author’s argument that the Resolution is a means of achieving African cultural renaissance by advocating for recognition of African cultural rights and the revival of culture-based conservation mechanisms.

On the 18^th October 2022, President Museveni signed into law the Mining and Minerals bill, 2022 which was passed by the parliament on the 17th February 2022. The Act sees the establishment of the Uganda National Mining Company which will manage the government’s commercial holding and participating interests in mineral agreements.

Among other provisions, the law provides for a systematic approach to community engagement. Now community members to be affected by mining operations can negotiate terms of engagement with the mining company. These community development agreements (CDAs) have the potential to facilitate the delivery of tangible benefits from small-scale to large-scale mining projects, however, to be effective CDAs must be adapted to the local context.

The new law intends to provide a robust, predictable and transparent legal regime, improve mining and mineral administration and business processes, ensure efficient collection and management of mineral revenues, promote value addition to minerals and increase mineral trade.

Royalty from the minerals now will be shared according to the ratio 70:15:10:5 among Central government, Local government, Sub County and Lawful land owner respectively.