Kédougou: MPs listening to stakeholders in the extractive sector

The Energy and Mineral Resources Commission of the National Assembly is carrying out a five-day working mission to Kédougou. Led by its president, MP Babacar Ndiaye, the delegation meets all stakeholders in the mining sector, along with state services and civil society organizations.

Started last Thursday, this parliamentary mission aims to meet mining companies, gold miners, administrative authorities as well as local communities, with the aim of evaluating the practices in force in the extractive sector. The deputies notably visited the gold mining site of Bantaco and spoke with the populations of the commune of Tomboronkoto, which is home to both this gold mining village and the PMC mining company.
On these different sites, parliamentarians carried out an assessment of compliance with safety, environmental, economic and social standards, while inquiring about the working and living conditions of operators, in particular those in artisanal gold panning.
Speaking to local populations, the president of the Energy and Mineral Resources Commission recalled the meaning of the approach. “Our mission is to monitor government action in terms of governance and transparency of the extractive sector, but also to ensure compliance with security standards and to collect the concerns of populations and workers,” declared Babacar Ndiaye. He also insisted on the importance of local work, beyond the legislative activity carried out in the hemicycle. “You sent us to the National Assembly to speak, decide and vote on your behalf. We therefore have an obligation to be close to you in order to better understand your realities,” he added.
On the ground, the delegation noted several major difficulties, including complex access to gold panning sites, the absence of clearly defined corridors and the destruction of equipment during security operations. A situation considered worrying by MP Babacar Diop, who believes in this sense that it fuels frustrations and tensions in an area already weakened by clandestine exploitation. .
For their part, gold miners have expressed serious concerns. The president of the Kédougou regional gold miners’ federation, Lamine Cissoko, denounced the repeated seizures of equipment. “Materials acquired on credit have been seized or destroyed, causing heavy economic losses to operators,” he lamented, calling for a definitive clarification of the authorized operating zones.
At the end of the first visits, the deputies pleaded for an in-depth reform of artisanal gold panning. “Traditional gold mining is still carried out in extremely difficult conditions. It is urgent to initiate effective formalization, respectful of human dignity,” underlined Babacar Ndiaye.
The mission continued with visits to several industrial mining companies, notably Managem-Boto and the Mako gold mine, in order to have an overall vision of the challenges and prospects of the extractive sector in Kédougou. It ends this Monday with a visit to the Sabodala mine.