Governance and Partnership

In ensuring sustainable mining of gemstone calls for enhanced collaboration and strong partnership by different stakeholders in Taita Taveta. This pillar strives to address the social, economic and environmental governance through inclusive participation by the key players such as the national, county governments ASM miners, local communities, mining entrepreneurs, political leaders, academic institutions, faith-based organizations, and health practitioners. The planned interventions under this thematic area for example holding multi-sectoral dialogue forum, inclusive gemstone resource governance, ASM formalization and entrenching accountability and responsibility will in the short, medium and long term encourage the autonomous co-existence of artisanal small-scale miners to support ASM yield optimal results.

A sustainable, accountable and transparent mining sector in Taita Taveta can promote a peaceful and inclusive community (SDG16).  Although ASM was recently recognized as a legal entity in the Mining Act (2016), a majority of artisanal miners are operating informally without the requisite permits and licenses to conduct their operations.  They mine informally as a response to the complex, bureaucratic and expensive nature of the mining licensing processes.  Some have alluded to the corruption in the process of licensing and the renewal rights.

 

Overall, to address the negative social, economic, environment and governance impacts of ASM practices requires a collaborative and partnership approach (SDG17) by all mining stakeholders in Taita Taveta.  The stakeholders include national and county governments, artisanal and small-scale miners, the local mining communities, mining entrepreneurs, mining business associations, political leaders, regulatory bodies, academic institutions, faith-based organizations, local NGOS, community-based organizations, and public service departments like for rangers, police, and health practitioners.

The formalization of the ASM sector continues to be championed as an essential pathway to accelerate poverty reduction and increase equal rights to land and mineral resources, increase wealth and sustain livelihoods, engender local development, foster employment creation and better sustainable mining processes.

 

Key Thematic Clusters and Actions

Governance:  Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Forum

  • Develop multi-stakeholder dialogue forum and a secretariat
  • Increase in numbers of community members including women and other vulnerable groups in dialogue fora
  • Develop a sustainable mining work plan

Participation in Gemstone Resource Governance

  • Strengthen training and community awareness on mining laws and regulations
  • Translate the mining laws and regulations to Swahili
  • Active participation of miners in the development of government policy and regulation processes
  • Ensure ASM representation in governmental committees
  • Gazette and Regularize the Artisanal Mining Committee (AMC)

ASM Formalisation

  • Licensing of artisanal miners
  • Increase cooperation and interaction between government and ASM miners
  • Active participation of miners in ASM formalization processes
  • Payment of taxes, license fees, and royalties
  • Establish LSM-ASM partnerships
  • Review of ASM mining policy, legal and regulatory framework to ensure they are fit for purposes and encourage ASM compliance

Strengthen the governance of artisanal mining associations

  • Support the formation of Mining Associations, Sacco and CBOs
  • Build capacity of management of organizations on effective governance of ASM

Accountability and Responsibility

  • Develop code of conduct and standards to promote a viable and sustainable ASM sector
  • Develop new, and, or strengthen existing accountability and grievance redress mechanisms for miners and mining communities

Research and knowledge exchange and transfer

  • Mines and promote operational research on their effectiveness
  • Increase resource allocation for Research and Development (R&D) by the County government and other mining stakeholders
  • Conduct research on mining-related topics
  • Develop a database of all mining stakeholders

Pillars of Sustainable Mining

Clean Energy

Artisanal and small-scale mining activities has spurred infrastructural development in the county where access to water, roads, communication

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