Kawama Community Report

Problems arising from mining

1. No agreement between the people from the community and mining community to consider problems and people’s concerns
2. Pollution of community’s water and air
3. The soil is polluted and land is taken by the mine
4. The people are prohibited to pass certain areas in order to reach the rail station by the mine security
5. Fruit trees are affected
6. Destruction of houses by company
7. Non completion of the Kawama school
8. Non completion of the only health center which construction was sponsored by the Beligians
9. The presence of an open cast mine
10. Unemployment
11. Diseases due to dirty water, birth defects and breathing difficulties
12. Loss of earning due to loss of fields for production
13. Sexual violence and spread of STD’s
14. Lack of fresh air
15. Huge ditches which allows mosquitos to multiple the cause of malaria
16. Drowning
17. No Shelter, expose to rain and weather, Financial crisis death
18. No access to health care, people auto medicate and this creates drug related problems
19. Large numbers of children don’t go to school, their parents are unemployed.

Community Action

The Belgian company left. A Chinese company started operations.

There is not settlement between the people and the mine.

We went to the traditional chief. We wrote a letter asking appointment to meet the new officials

We wanted to talk about unemployment, pollution of the water, loss of fruit trees, soil pollution.

The population increased from 4000 to 11,000.

We wanted the price of schooling to be lowered.

We want locals to be employed.

We wanted compensation. We went to court between 2009-2016.

 

There is no development plan.

There are no harmonized plans.