Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources Tobie Aupindi says Namibia's small-scale mining sector requires urgent legislative and institutional reforms to unlock its potential and address persistent challenges facing miners.
He made these remarks at the conclusion of the committee's oversight visit to small-scale mining areas in the Erongo region last week.
The committee visited several mining sites and engaged small-scale miners and traditional leaders as part of its assessment of the sector. Aupindi said the oversight exercise left him with mixed feelings, as the committee had witnessed both significant potential and serious shortcomings within the sector.
"I am living with a mixed feeling of a sense of disappointment because we saw a lot of work done when it comes to the mining operations in the region," he said.
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He stressed that Namibia's mineral laws and related policies must be amended to accommodate advances in mining technology and formally recognise small-scale mining as an integral component of the country's socio-economic development.
Aupindi said disputes between Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) holders and holders of mining claims were among the issues requiring legislative intervention.
"The issue, for example, of the EPL owner versus the right holder, who is usually a local community person, must be resolved within the ambit of the law, not outside the law. Therefore, we need to amend the law," he said.
His remarks echoed concerns raised by small-scale miners, particularly regarding access to mining areas located within EPLs.
One miner from the Neu-Schwaben Independent Miners' Association in the Otjimbingwe area explained that mining claim holders can face difficulties accessing their claims when they fall within an EPL area.
He said permission may have to be sought from the EPL holder, who can refuse access.
The miner said there was currently no effective mechanism to coordinate such disputes, leaving small-scale miners uncertain about their ability to access and work their claims.
Aupindi said the problem was not unique to the Erongo region but affects small-scale miners across Namibia.
"You have the EPL holder who is enjoying relative plenty because he can afford millions of dollars to maintain and sustain an EPL. Then we have a small mining claim holder who is relegated to primitive ways of doing business," he said.
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