By Staff Reporter
Normally – and this is common public administration practice – government technocrats draft policies which are then adopted by parliament as a national policy. For a policy to be enforced, a law implementing it is tabled in parliament as a Bill and the legislature eventually passes it before it gets gazetted as an operational Act of Parliament.
However, in a clear case of putting the cart before the horse, the ministry of natural resources is only making moves to formulate an artisanal and small-scale mining policy, more than a year after parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Act 2022 which allowed small scale miners to mine diamonds with the authorisation from the ministry of mining.
The new amendment to the Mines and Minerals Act, 2005 was meant for indigenous Basotho to be given licenses to start mining diamonds in places where they believe those stones may be available. The ministry can also advise the diggers of the places where such stones are available.
According to the then ministry of mining, it had a map of where diamonds can be found and now that the amendment was formalised, people could then register to get licenses.
“For now, as a pilot project, the ministry with its officers will be going to all the districts of Lesotho to register small-scale miners. People should not come to the ministry directly but wait for the officials to visit them.
“Registration will be done with the help of the ministry of local government through chiefs and local councillors. People can register for artisanal mining anywhere in the country where they would like to mine diamonds.
“The ministry has also looked at working with other ministries such as those of health, tourism, environment and culture under the department of environment and the ministry of forestry and soil conservation with different mandates to guarantee that all aspects are looked at during the mining processes,” the ministry had indicated.
Miners would also undergo training to be equipped with knowledge to detect the valuable stones. They would also be coached on how to clean diamonds to ready them for auctions. As for the discovered gems, they would be sold at an auction to be organised by the ministry.
The artisanal miners were understandably upbeat about the law. And they were even more delighted when the ministry of health and social services recently convened a five-day workshop to pave way for the eventual development of a policy on occupational health, wellness, safety and environmental services for artisanal and small-scale miners.
This is part of government’s plans to protect artisanal and small-scale miners by creating a safe and healthy work environment for them.
The workshop, which was held at Thaba Bosiu in Maseru, sought to solicit artisanal and small-scale miners’ views and input into the envisaged policy which will provide guidelines on occupational safety in the sub-sector.
Artisanal and small-scale miners, medical doctors, ministry of mining and natural resources officers as well as officers from the ministry of public service, labour and employment took part in the workshop.
According to a consultant engaged by the ministry of health, Professor Dingani Moyo, the initiative will subsequently lead to drafting of a policy on artisanal and small-scale mining and the basic occupational health services plan for implementation in the workplace.
“Lesotho is to be one of the first countries in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region to have an occupational health, wellness, safety and environmental policy for artisanal and small-scale miners. This will guarantee safe working conditions for artisanal and small-scale miners,” Professor Moyo noted during the deliberations.
He said the policy will provide for surveillance in artisanal and small-scale mining in order to assess and manage risks at the workplace.
Apart from that, it will allow for a strengthened surveillance of workers’ health while also ensuring environmental protection.
At the workshop Professor Moyo conducted a mini survey on the occupational health, wellness, safety and environment (OHWSE) in artisanal and small-scale mining in Lesotho.
The survey covered the types of minerals mined in artisanal and small-scale operations, and challenges faced by miners with regard to health, safety and environment. It sought the key needs of such miners in areas of health, safety and environment.
In addition, participants were asked whether the current policies and legislation specifically address such needs of this type of miners and whether the country offers occupational health services across its primary health care facilities. They were asked to tell of any existence of dedicated care centres that conduct medical surveillance for artisanal and small-scale miners.
The survey results were yet to be released by Professor Moyo at the time of going to print.
It became obvious that basic occupational health services are hugely required to enhance the operations of artisanal and small-scale miners.
They also learned that as a preventive measure, medical surveillance will pave way for detection of any exposure to dust emissions at the workplace. Such surveillance will thus enable observance of signs and symptoms of any health impacts on miners.
An official from the ministry of mines, Pokane Koatla welcomed the initiative, indicating that the policy formulation and plan will bear fruits for regulation (and guidance) of industry to allow Lesotho to be the first in implementation of the plan and such policy.
He was optimistic that the exercise will be incorporated in the spheres of other relevant ministries such as labour, health and environment.
The deliberations seemed to have gone down well with other participants who purely voiced their desire to be cognisant of the occupational health, safety and environmental protection at their workplaces.
“We have now learned about the importance of health and safety. We will pool our efforts to dig resources (diamonds) in a safe environment,” said ‘Maneo Makhakhe of the Sovereign Minerals, a small-scale mining company that is conducting diamond prospecting activities in rural Soloane village in the Motete area in Botha-Bothe district.
Her colleague, Pinky Ramarou, echoed the same sentiments.
“The lessons learned in this workshop will be instilled in the artisanal and small-scale mining activities. We will be the ears and eyes for the artisanal and small-scale miners who we regularly meet even in difficult work situations,” Ramarou indicated.
Participants were also enlightened on the need for medical services, prevention of accidents and injuries, health and safety measures, tool kits, environmental protection and risk assessments at workplaces.
They further learned that artisanal and small-scale mining has both positive and negative impacts on environment.
Watercourses are contaminated and this inevitably leads to pollution, they were told.
Also, there is siltation that blocks rivers and lakes while disrupting ecosystems by reducing photosynthesis.
There is also disruption of landscape that yield lots of dust. In addition to diversion of rivers where operations are conducted, there is also displacement of natural habitats.
There is also a lot of noise pollution which is a nuisance to surrounding communities, the participants observed.
Some of the positive impacts of this type of mining are that it allows for rehabilitation and formulation of legal frameworks that regulate the environmental impacts. It further allows for environmental assessment to manage any possible damage to the surroundings.
The mining operations in Lesotho are guided by the Mines and Minerals Act of 2005. Its section 46 clearly offers for a holding of a mineral permit.
According to the legislation, all rights of ownership of minerals are vested in the Basotho nation. It allows for efficient, beneficial and timely manner of investigating and exploiting of mineral resources.
According to this law, a person who wishes to conduct small scale mining operations may apply for a permit to conduct such operations for any minerals other than diamonds.
But according to Moeliehi Seoli of the mining ministry’s department of mines and geology, this legal framework has been amended as Mines and Minerals Act 2014 and 2022. The amended legislation includes mining of diamonds in small scale operations.
While it is estimated that globally 40 million people work in this sector, it is usually unregulated.
Its inclusion in the scope of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) allows countries to improve access to data on artisanal mining, underpinning public debate and policies to improve legal and regulatory frameworks, curb smuggling and corruption and build capacity to formalise the sector.
