The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
23 November 2009
editorial
The deaths of four people at a small-scale gold mine in Tarime District points to a worrying trend that is becoming all too familiar.
The suffocation of the miners raises fresh queries on the safety of hundreds of small-scale mines in the country, coming a few months after a pit at a mine in Geita District caved, killing at least 30 people.
The two accidents and a string of other similar incidents that preceded them raise serious questions about the issue of safety in small-scale mining activities in the country.
It was only last year that at least 70 miners died when rainwater flooded a shaft at the Mererani tanzanite mines in Simanjaro District, Manyara Region. In 2002, 40 people suffocated in a shaft at the mines when a machine pumping in fresh air broke down. For how long will this be allowed to continue?
The problem is that small-scale mining is to a large extent unregulated in Tanzania, making the country's small-scale mines some of the most dangerous in Africa. Pits such as those in Tarime and Geita districts are veritable deathtraps as was seen yet again last week.
The way the pits are dug and the absence of rescue and other emergency services make it virtually impossible to carry out rescue and recovery operations in the event of an accident. The Mererani accidents of 2002 and last year and last week's incident in Tarime District are a case in point.
Poor record keeping is another major problem at small-scale mines. This is the reason behind wildly conflicting casualty figures given after an accident. For instance, it is still not known exactly how many people died in the 2002 and last year's accidents in Mererani.
It's time frequent inspections were carried out at small-scale mines all over the country with a view to preventing further loss of life. Those found to be wanting insofar as safety is concerned should be blacklisted and closed down immediately.
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