The government blows the whistle on the end of a plundering taking place before the eyes of powerless populations and local authorities.
The Cameroonian government is finally opening its eyes to the illegal gold mining in Cameroon. The Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development Fuh Calistus Gentry publicly released on May 13 a list of illegal gold miners operating in the East and Adamawa regions. The document lists nearly 200 companies involved in semi-mechanized artisanal gold mining, 95% of which are foreign companies.
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The mining takes place in well-known gold-bearing areas. And unauthorized companies, refusing to communicate, holding permits not present on site, are at work. The government, through a statement from Minmidt, orders the immediate cessation of activities of these illegal companies. They are called upon to dismantle their gold gravel processing units and all related installations under penalty of forcing the authorities to carry out forced dismantling at the expense of the offenders and to face legal proceedings.
While the government measures are to be welcomed due to a desire to control the gold sector as well as the profits, it is still worth wondering how such a number of companies can escape the vigilance of the authorities. In areas where gold mining activity is intense and where activities should replenish the state coffers, the question arises about the porosity of the monitoring and security belt around the zones. Gold mining networks would have formed and operate with the complicity of certain facilitators hidden in administrations or certain traffickers in collaboration with influential personalities of the region, falsifying the traceability of the mining as well as that of the real gains.
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As a result, revenues that should benefit the state and the populations instead go abroad while filling the pockets of certain individuals or groups. The government’s measure remains silent, however, on the recovery of profits accumulated by these illegal companies during mining. Likewise, it does not mention the environmental effects, raising another question about the repair of said damages.
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