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South Africa
Exporting copper from Zambia — a tale of two roads
Copper remains Zambia’s principal export and tax earner. But getting the product out is subject to challenges of both hardware and software.
The towns on the road to Mongu are memorable for their roadside stalls and shiny tomatoes, throngs of people in brightly coloured chitenge, and the quaintly named shops. (Photo: Greg Mills)
The Just Transition Open Agenda
From 24 to 26 November 2020, the three organisations comprising the Life After Coal campaign, Earthlife Africa (Johannesburg), the Centre for Environmental Rights and groundWork, met virtually to develop a shared Open Agenda on the Just Transition. We used the Open Agenda for a Just Transition - developed at the National Coal Exchange in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, in July 2019 - as a starting point. We chose to frame it as an agenda because it consists of actions that need to be taken to ensure a Just Transition.
Zimbabwe's Disappearing gold: The case of Mazowe and Penhalonga
Illicit financial flows (IFFs)in the artisanal gold mining sector in Zimbabwe are responsible for leakages of an estimated 3 tonnes of gold, valued at approximately USD157 million every month. The artisanal gold sector has transformed from being a traditional livelihoods option for local families to an anchor of gold smuggling cartels that are robbing the country of the precious metal. Artisanal mining has also spread its tentacles from alluvial gold deposits along rivers and dry riverbeds to large scale disused mines that are now patronized by ruling party officials.
The Forever Mines: Perpetual Rights Risks from Unrehabilitated Coal Mines in Mpumalanga, South Africa
According to South African government records, there are no fewer than 400 abandoned coal mines.The risks from unrehabilitated mines extend far beyond the people who access the sites –they risk polluting the water of millions of South Africans. Coal across South Africa is found predominantly in ores with sulfur-bearing minerals. When these ores come into contact with water and air, sulfuric acid is created, which can lead to further leaching of heavymetals from ores. This reaction poses significant risks to water and agricultural land in many parts of South Africa, including in Mpumalanga.
Mining and illicit trading of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Mining and the illicit trade in minerals have long been the source of social and environmental upheaval in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and coltan, a mineral essential to modern electronics, has become a particular focus of criminal networks. This study reveals a network of organised crime involved in the production and supply chain of coltan, and its connections to
Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners' rights
Sierra Leone's parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.
The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge tracts of land for palm oil and sugarcane plantations in recent years.
Drought: We know what to do, why don’t we do it?
Ignoring the plight of 20 million people in the Horn of Africa is a political choice.
The 20 million people struggling to survive a scorching drought in the Horn of Africa are victims not only of a climate crisis but of the failings of governments and humanitarians to heed the lessons from earlier disasters.
Kigali city launches fresh operation against undeveloped land
City of Kigali authorities have said they have embarked on renewed exercise to identify plots of land within city suburbs that have not been developed, warning that the law will take its course for those who will be found at fault.
The 2013 Law Governing Land Use in Rwanda provides for the confiscation of land within urban areas for which a detailed physical plan was approved by competent authorities, but it spends three consecutive years unexploited.