The administrator of the territory of Manono, in the province of Tanganyika, recently took the decision to prohibit the operation of nine mining cooperatives on his territory. This decision was motivated by the lack of organization and transparency of these cooperatives.
Indeed, according to administrator Cyprien Kitanga, these cooperatives operate in an unregulated environment, particularly due to the lack of offices in the region. In addition, many managers of these structures do not reside in the Manono territory, which complicates their traceability.
Cyprien Kitanga explains: “There are cooperatives that exist in Manono which do not have offices. There are people who are elsewhere who put their cooperatives in their pockets and do not have offices. They are not well traced, you know, the mining sector is a very sensitive sector.
This decision was welcomed by Dieu-Merci Kabila, head of the Salama cooperative, which supervises artisanal diggers. He believes that some cooperatives do not work in the interests of the diggers and do not contribute to the development of the region.
Since 2002, numerous mining cooperatives have operated in Manono, notably exploiting coltan and cassiterite. However, despite this mining activity, the living conditions of artisanal diggers have not changed and social infrastructure is non-existent.
According to Dieu-Merci Kabila, “the artisanal workers do not change their lives, they are always suffering and you cannot find a single digger who can show you his house that he built. Here, there is not even a cooperative that thought of building even a small health center. Everything that concerns social regulations is flouted by these mining cooperatives.”
This situation therefore raises questions about the management of mining cooperatives in Manono and highlights the need for stricter regulation and better supervision of these activities to ensure sustainable and equitable development for all stakeholders.