| Tensions on the Rise at North Mara by Reporters, The Citizen (Tanzania) July 6th, 2009 | ||
Revealed: Policemen involved in gold theft
Police officers are part of a wide network involved in gold smuggling and rampant vandalism at the North Mara Gold Mine (NMGM) in Tarime District. Authorities in Mara Region have confirmed reports that some policemen were recently "caught and disciplined" over underhand dealings at the conflict-ridden mine. The reports say some unscrupulous police officers guarding the mine were caught red-handed coordinating gangs of looters from local villages to steal property and smuggle gold sand. A reliable source within the Barrick Gold Tanzani-owned mine said the officers were organising groups of up to 500 villagers to create disturbances and loot. The mine's management told The Citizen the looters were targeting mainly fuel, gold sand and other properties.Last week, Mara regional police commander Liberatus Barlow declined to comment on the issue, saying he had just arrived from an official trip abroad. But acting regional police commander Steven Buyuya said he had received reports of "unscrupulous officers" involved in underhand dealings at the mine. "We have some police officers misbehaving at Nyamongo Village [which borders the mine] and these were dismissed after they were caught," he said. Mr Buyuya said the police were not in any contract with the company to guard the mine but the two had just signed a memorandum of understanding. He said: "We are actually doing the company a huge favour because if we were to vacate the area, within just half an hour it would be in a state of complete chaos." Since the mine started operating in the area about seven years ago, relations between locals and the investor have never been warm. The Nyamongo villagers, some of whom still claiming compensation for their plots that were taken over by the mine, accuse the investor of doing nothing to improve their conditions. But the investor accuses the villagers of looting, and of late has implicitly started to avoid employing local youths for even menial jobs at the mine. The mine's public relations officer, Mr Edward Ibabila, said the investor had poured a huge amount money into security in a bid to curb losses incurred through the endemic smuggling and vandalism. "The company is investing too much in protecting the mine against looters, but this is impacting on its profits and compromising all efforts to support local community development projects," he said. The Government once promised to beef up security at the mine by turning the entire Mara Region into a special police zone after the firm's shareholders threatened to quit over repeated skirmishes. Over 300 villagers, some of them allegedly demanding compensation, are said to have recently attempted to raid the property but police opened fire to scare them away. And a few weeks ago, the police shot dead seven youths who had allegedly trespassed into the mine, sparking a public outcry over "excessive use of force". A taxi driver and former worker at the mine, Mr Magori Lameck, told The Citizen the villagers were finding their way into the mine despite the heavy presence of armed police. "Most of them bribe the police to enter the property to smuggle gold sand. Some police officers from other areas are actually bribing their bosses to be posted here because it is lucrative business," he said. On top of their salaries, all the police officers at the mine are reportedly receiving per diems and other incentives from the investor. Before the deployment of armed policemen, the company used its own security guards to man the premise. But they were not allowed to use force or even carry loaded guns because Barrick signed the UN Charter on Human Rights. Apparently, villagers surrounding the mine were aware of this, resulting in uncontrollable disturbances before the investor engaged local police to boost security. But even so, the problem seems far from over as the villagers are taking advantage of corrupt police officers to get into the mine to loot. According to some villagers, in most cases the policemen, who have a detailed knowledge of the mine's topograghy, organise and coordinate the criminal activities. The officers are not subjected to limited entrance into the mine compound, and some reportedly intrude to study the area for criminal purposes on the pretext of surveying. A worker at the mine who preferred not to be identified for fear of reprisals said there was no way villagers could loot or do some of the illegal activities they were doing without help from the inside. He said on December 11 last year, they blasted some rocks with high amount of gold, and on the same day, a group of more than 500 villagers invaded the pit and stole large quantities of gold sand at the area. "So the question is how could mere villagers have known the location of the high grade ore just hours after we blasted it, if they were not collaborating with the police or mine workers?� he queried. He added: "It's very obvious that they are getting help from knowledgeable insiders because no common villager has neither the equipment nor expertise to process large quantities of stolen gold sand." Most of the gold sand smuggled from the mine, he said, is sold to local crashers and businessmen in Mwanza Region who have washers and grinders needed to process the mineral before it is sold to middlemen in neighbouring countries. And there are allegations some local leaders are reluctant to deal with the problem because they are benefiting from the loot. The problem has also taken a political twist amid reports some of the ringleaders of the criminal activities are related to senior politicians in the area. "It's surprising that most cases of some of the criminals who are caught red-handed with things they steal at the mine are swept under the carpet," said another miner, preferring anonymity. Some village leaders said the problem was fast becoming complicated because the network of looters had of late involved people from outside Nyamongo village. The leaders also blame the increasing cases of vandalism and armed robberies in the area on the high cost of living since the mine started operating. For instance, villagers pay as much as Sh100,000 to hire a vehicle to the nearest Tarime District Hospital. Before the mine started operating, they paid only Sh10,000 for the same service. Apparently, local unemployed youths have also taken advantage of the chaos to steal fuel from the mine, which they sell in containers along the main roads. The local town has only one petrol station, which is making their illegal business thrive. A villager who identified himself as Solomon Gesase said he was finding it difficult to send his four children to secondary school. "Life is now unbearable here," he said. "We are just fed up and no longer have any hope in the investor doing anything for us. The mine must be closed." Most of the people who were interviewed demanded the closure of the mine saying its existence had done them more harm than good. Reported by Patty Magubira, Tarime and Peter Nyanje in Dar es Salaam. |
