BY STAFF REPORTER
Stung by rampant silting and pollution of water bodies, as well as general violation of the environment, the government has banned riverbed alluvial mining with immediate effect.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Anxious Masuka, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Mining and Environment, stated, “Cabinet considered and approved the Report on Alluvial Mining and Rehabilitation of Degraded Rivers and noted that, ever since its commencement in 2011 across the country’s rural provinces, large-scale and mechanical alluvial mining or riverbed mining has resulted in water pollution, siltation, degradation of river channels, and disruption of riverine ecosystems.”
The Cabinet report further stated, “Cabinet directed that riverbed mining be banned with immediate effect.”
This move comes after the government legalized small-scale mining in the name of promoting indigenization, which has led to massive environmental degradation.
The ban aims to address the environmental concerns and protect the country’s water bodies and ecosystems.
