The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Mubende, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Natural resources committee of Parliament has given the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development up to March 10th to resettle Mubende artisanal miners.
In 2017, government evicted an estimated 60,000 artisanal miners in Mubende district on grounds that they were mining illegally.
The miners were evicted from Kitumbi and Bukuya sub counties which were owned by AUC Mining Uganda Limited owned by Gertrude Njuba, a long time presidential advisor and Moses Masagazi.
The miners under their umbrella Mubende United Miners Assembly (MUMA) were in 2019 allocated land in Kyabikoola village in Bukuya, in the new Kassanda district, however they turned around saying the land was barren with no minerals and needed better land.
They then petitioned Parliament seeking to be allocated 1 square kilometer of land in the original mining area.
Now appearing before the natural resources committee scrutinizing their petition, the miners led by their chairman John Bosco Bukya said the President guided that they should be given part of the working mining area, but they were given land that does not yield any thing.
They asked the committee to compel government to give them the 1 square kilometer to mine, so that they can restore their livelihood which was damaged by the eviction.
Sarah Babirye, the Central Youth MP pleaded with the Minister to resettle the evicted people, saying their families are stranded as they cannot mine.
The committee chairperson Keefa Kiwanuka asked the Ministry to consider implementing the directive of the President especially since the contract for the AUC Mining company had expired some time in Febraury and the land was now in the hands of government. He gave the Ministry up to 10th March to resolve the matter.
The Minister of State for Mineral Development, Sarah Opendi requested for more time to come up with a decision on how to resettle the artisanal miners.
Although the committee had resolved that the procurement process for a new mining company in the area of Kitumba and Bukuya in the contested area be halted until the issue of the artisanal miners are sorted, the Energy Ministry says people have already applied since its an online system.
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