More than 9,000 residents of Ramula and the neighbouring villages may lose their livelihoods once the mining giant, Shanta Gold Mining Company kicks off operations next year.

A stakeholder meeting that brought together players in the mining industry in Siaya County heard that small scale miners were facing growing pressure from both the government and the large-scale miners keen on taking over the sites that they have been licenced to operate on.

Speaking during a stakeholder meeting held in Madeya, Ugunja Sub-County and the Tuwajibike Platform Chair Patrick Ochieng said the entry of large-scale miners in the region was set to change the operations of the sector that has for years been exploited by artisanal miners.

He said the decision by the government to license Shanta Gold Mining Company to exploit minerals in Ramula, Siaya County and the neighbouring villages in Vihiga will affect the locals’ livelihood, hence the need to promote human rights and environmental sustainability in the area.

Ochieng lamented that there were no clear policies to protect small-scale miners and challenged both the national and county governments to activate artisanal mining committees. He said that there was need for civic education in regard to mining rights so as to avoid chaos that lead to deaths whenever an investor is granted licence to exploit the minerals in a given area.

The stakeholders called for a framework to regulate relations between multinational firms and small-scale miners. They lamented that artisanal miners and community members are always side-lined when it comes to the issuance of prospecting and mining licences, only to be ambushed at the last minute when they are ordered to give way for the large-scale miners.

Artisanal miners led by Odero Zachary Nyakwaka of the Bamboo Artisanal Miners Cooperative called for openness in the issuance of licences. He lamented that whereas more than 9,000 people rely on artisanal gold mining in Ramula, the company licensed to operate in the area, Shanta Gold has declared that it will offer only 700 job opportunities.

 “What will happen to the rest?” he asked.

A member of the County mining committee, Stephen Ohago called on the government to empower artisanal miners through civic education and cooperative formation, adding that small scale mining employs more locals than large-scale operations.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Philip Onyango