AFRICA: We Are the Government By Jessie Boylan LAGO DISTRICT, Mozambique, Nov 6 (IPS) – As if they were going to the races, Emma Musako and Monica Mhango showed up in their finest outfits to attend a meeting on the health, social and environmental impacts of uranium mining. They came because they, like the other attendees, no longer want to remain uninformed citizens.
Last month in the dusty lakeshore town of Karonga in northern Malawi, some 80 people met to discuss issues concerning the Kayelekera Uranium Mine (KUM) which lies 52 km north east of Karonga.
“Before we came to this meeting,” said Musako, a strong willed mother of 10 and member of the Women’s Forum of Karonga, “we weren’t sure what this ‘uranium’ was; we thought maybe it was the name of a person.”
Organised by the Citizens for Justice (CFJ), the meeting had representatives from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), churches, communities and universities; and concluded with a clear strategy and action plan as to how the new civil society ‘movement’ would proceed. …………..
“The government is you and me, we are supposed to take control,” said a university representative.
“We are citizens of Malawi, we all have constitutional rights to be protected and safe. Our government is a signatory to international laws… they must protect us,” said a workers rights campaigner. ……………………
The KUM, which is owned by Paladin Energy Africa, an Australian company, began full operation this year, and intends to begin exporting within the coming months.
The mine began production without the proper legislation in place to deal with minerals such as uranium. Paladin and the government have been criticised for failing to meet international standards of uranium mining and the handling of radioactive waste.
Paladin are junior players in the mining business, with only one other operating mine, the Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia. They have been criticised for being unable to conform to Australian mining standards and turning to Africa, which has little understanding and regulation of uranium mining, meaning they can operate without being monitored or being held accountable.
“Paladin are operating under outdated legislation,” said Reinford Mwagonde, the director for CFJ. “They are operating under the 1981 Mines and Minerals Act, which was passed during (President Kamuzu) Banda’s ‘one-party’ regime, so it is very archaic, it’s very old, and it bares little relevance to current standards………
The KUM, which is owned by Paladin Energy Africa, an Australian company, began full operation this year, and intends to begin exporting within the coming months.
The mine began production without the proper legislation in place to deal with minerals such as uranium. Paladin and the government have been criticised for failing to meet international standards of uranium mining and the handling of radioactive waste.
Paladin are junior players in the mining business, with only one other operating mine, the Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia. They have been criticised for being unable to conform to Australian mining standards and turning to Africa, which has little understanding and regulation of uranium mining, meaning they can operate without being monitored or being held accountable.
“Paladin are operating under outdated legislation,” said Reinford Mwagonde, the director for CFJ. “They are operating under the 1981 Mines and Minerals Act, which was passed during (President Kamuzu) Banda’s ‘one-party’ regime, so it is very archaic, it’s very old, and it bares little relevance to current standards…………….
“So we will speak with a strong voice,” Emma Musako said. “We don’t have to fear because our children are dying and in (years) to come people will have more problems, and our animals will be dying because of unclean water, so we have to speak now.”
AFRICA: We Are the Government – IPS ipsnews.net
Tags: antinuclear, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear issues, radioactive wastes, uranium
