‘Development Minerals’ sector cries for attention
By MAILESI BANDA THE “Development Minerals” sector has continued to be segregated despite the €13.1 million ACP-EU fund, Copperbelt Trade & Development Forum (CTDF), Vincent Lengwe has said.
Mr. Lengwe expressed concerned over the continued segregation of the ‘Development Minerals’ Sub-sector which was mainly dominated by women.
He explained that despite the €13.1 million ACP-EU project that was launched last year to be implemented over three years, there had been no corresponding policy and legislative framework aimed at harnessing the full eco- nomic potential of the industrial minerals, construction materials and dimension stones among artisanal miners.
Mr. Lengwe said considering the rapid growth of the construction sector and high rate of urbanisation, there was need for a deliberate programme to support the sector.
“There is need to appreciate that while informal trading activities constitute about 90 percent of the overall economic activities, significant number of these marginalised economic players, particularly women in the major mining towns of the Copperbelt Province are surviving on the extraction of these neglected development minerals despite the prevailing abusive and unfair market conditions, high income inequality, and gender disparity,” Mr. Lengwe said.
Mr. Lengwe acknowledged the various interventions by the Ministry of Mines and the ACP-EU Project which includes a grant facility of US$2 million in responding to the various operational capacity constraints among the artisanal miners.
He noted that the major challenge was actually more of a political and legislative nature.
He appealed to Government to facilitate the self-organisation as well as the capacity of artisanal miners through the formation of cooperatives and legalising industrial mineral exploitation as it provides critical inputs for domestic and economic development.
“Government has enhanced multi-stakeholder extension services and short-term tailor made skills training in entrepreneurship, occupational health, safety and environmental best practices, and the economic geology of industrial minerals in collaboration with the academia such as UNZA School of Mines,” he said.
The ACP-EU (African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States) Development Minerals Project is financed by the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme which is being implemented by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development in partnership with the African Union under the African Minerals Development Centre within the broader framework of the African Mining Vision.