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Tanzania: The Return of Victorian Era Exploitation?

Evans Rubara

20 November 2008

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With vivid examples of the unapologetically exploitative approach of multinational mining corporations in Tanzania, Evans Rubara highlights some of the glaring malpractice of rapacious foreign companies operating on Tanzanian soil. In a sector supported by lax tax collection by the country's government and whose only concern is for profit, companies such as Barrick Gold Corporation have much to answer for in the face of widespread environmental degradation, the displacement and forcible removal of local people, and criminalisation of local mining activities. Drawing on the information collected within damning reports such as A Golden Opportunity?, Rubara documents the extent to which mining companies operate with impunity in Tanzania, an impunity giving rise to sustained abuse of local people's rights and wholesale stealing of national resources.

Multinational mining activities are introducing another era of colonialism in Tanzania as they hold major decisive positions on the use of prime land areas, and profit greatly from the mining of valuable mineral resources.

In the recent past, Tanzanians have raised concerns on how the multinational mining companies plunder the natural resources at the expense of the local people.

Because of the prevalent high rates of this pillaging of the national stock of natural resources, the citizenry have woken with an uproar to question the government's stance on ensuring land security for its people, and benefits from their resources.

The presidential commission appointed by President Kikwete (2007) and chaired by Judge Mark Bomani (also known as the Bomani Commission), set up to probe the accusations of 'theft' of natural resources and gross human rights violations, found that Tanzania does not benefit sufficiently from the multitude of natural resources in the land.

The report states that, 'Despite the presence of such a huge amount of mineral reserves, the contribution of this sector to the national economy and community development seems not to be meeting citizens' expectations compared to other sectors of the economy.'

The Canadian company, Barrick, and the South African firm AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) are the main giants in the mining industry in Tanzania. Two Canadian companies, Barrick and Tanzania Royalty Exploration Corporation control over 50% of Tanzania's gold projects. Barrick owns three of the seven major gold mining projects in Tanzania, while TRE controls over 60% of the mining rights in the mineral rich area of Lake Victoria.

COMPENSATION

'The process currently used is for the mining companies to collaborate with district leadership without involving the local citizens who will be displaced. Consequently they do not know their rights and the amount of compensation they ought to eventually receive. The government evaluator is used in valuing the compensation amounts for each property without informing and involving the citizens and after the valuing exercise the people are paid through the office of the District Commissioner,' reads part of the report.

The mining policy states that The Land Act (1999) and The Village Land Act (1999) are currently the two main acts responsible for land issues including compensation. These two laws provide a legal basis on ownership and compensation on land matters. However, there are other laws also with provisions on land acquisition for different uses including starting a mine.

In Tanzania these laws are not well applied. The multinational mining companies take advantage of the locals who are 'not enlightened about the compensation process, their rights and the responsibility of the new land owner in compensating them'. Sometimes the companies use administrative and other corrupt measures to avoid making payments.

The Mining Act (1998), section 96 states that, 'The license offered shall be utilized without causing any harm to the land owner or the rightful resident. Section 96(3) states that compensation for the resident should match the market value, rightful and sufficient. Under section 96(5), the Act states that in case of any dispute relating to the compensation paid under section 96(3), the complainant may submit the complaints to the Commissioner of Minerals who shall address them using his authority rendered to him under Part VIII of the Mining Act.'

Despite the compensation guidelines set out in the Land Act, 1999, it is apparent that some of the criteria are not applied during the preparation and the actual payment of compensation.

'The citizens do not know the basic criteria for computing the compensation amounts. Basically, the real situation shows that the whole compensation process is not clear and not fair - hence, unsatisfactory. Valuing for compensation is usually done without heeding the key issues identified in the law (i.e. disturbance, transport and the value of the properties depending on where they are). Many people have been displaced without being paid the compensation or being allocated alternative places,' states the Bomani Commission.

LOBBYING

In the Bomani report, it is also evident that the Tanzanian government has been 'manipulated' by the mining companies to leave her citizens in the merciless hands of the mining companies. As a result, the government is slated for making bargains with the mining companies without consulting the local communities.

In July 2008, THISDAY reported that the Canadian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Janet Siddall, and other officials from the embassy in Dar es Salaam were in Dodoma on an intense mission to lobby MPs about their positions on the Bomani committee report findings.

Parliamentary sources confirmed that the Canadian delegation had been in private talks with influential legislators from both the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Opposition.

"They were keen to ensure that Parliament does not endorse the Bomani committee report for immediate implementation, because that would have quite negative consequences for that country's business and investment interests in Tanzania," one source told THISDAY.

The report is in line to be debated in the National Assembly during the ongoing budget session, and may involve amendments to the Mining Act which will tighten operating regulations and increase revenue to the government.

While the investors have been accused of 'arm-twisting' by the government for a deal that favours them, the government have also been blamed for giving 'big portions of land to multinational mining companies without considering the real use of it by those who owned the place.'

All these revelations in the Bomani report reveal that the multinational companies like Barrick Gold Corporation have found weak points in the government's policies and practice by which they plunder the country of her wealth that should be used to enrich the lives of her people.

In a recent meeting between a group of 29 journalists and Barrick Gold Corporation Bulyanhulu Mining site in Kakola village, Kahama district, the delegation was informed by the general manager, Greg Walker, that Barrick have requested the government to be lenient in enforcing some of the demands. 'We have been in dialogue with the government on a number of the newly proposed policies on mining. There are those which are harsh to an operation like ours and we have asked them to review them if at all we are going to help Tanzania make economic advancement from mining activities,' Walker said.

Besides this it was revealed that Barrick, as an investing company in Tanzania, owns land not being put to good use while the government is seeking appropriate land for her citizens. 'We have been holding discussions with the government on whether the Kakola - Bulyanhulu residents should remain on the land where they are right now for a long time but until now we have not reached a consensus. Seeing what the people go through, we have decided to give them the land. Actually it is not yet theirs but we are finalising legal documents to finally hand over the land to Kakola people. This goes hand in hand with our allowing installation of electrical power lines to commence,' said Barrick Gold Corporation's general manager at Bulyanhulu Gold Mine site, Greg Walker.

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