South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The Minister of Mining, Martin Gama Abucha, has asked regional governments to manage natural resources efficiently to benefit their citizens.
“The resources belong to the people of Africa, regardless of the borders drawn by colonial powers. Whether it’s gold in South Sudan, oil in Sudan, or minerals across the continent, the exploitation of these resources must benefit the people of Africa, not just a few individuals or foreign interests,” said Abucha during the closing the ministerial meeting of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Juba on Friday.
Representative of the 12-member States of the ICGLR, have been meeting since November 6 in Juba, where they discussed on how best they could work jointly to add value to natural resources within their countries.
Abucha emphasized the importance of ensuring sustainable and equitable use of natural resources, adding that when this is done it contributes towards long-term economic growth.
“Africa’s resources should not simply be extracted and exported as raw materials; we must process them here, add value, and create industries that generate jobs and opportunities for our people,” he disclosed.
He noted that regional collaboration is essential to achieving these goals by harmonizing regulations and sharing knowledge across borders.
Abucha floated the idea of building industries that process raw materials and keep the benefits within the continent, rather than letting foreign companies profit from Africa’s resources.
“While we may label certain activities as illegal under modern laws, we must recognize that many traditional mining practices predate the current national boundaries we live with today. In South Sudan, for instance, people have been mining gold for centuries using rudimentary tools. Should we consider them criminals? Or do we need to think about how to formalize their efforts and integrate them into the legal economy?” he quipped.
The Minister highlighted the scale of artisanal mining in South Sudan, where over 100,000 miners extract more than 30 tons of gold annually.
“Rather than criminalizing these efforts, we need to find ways to organize and formalize the sector,” said Abucha, adding that the goal should be to improve the livelihoods of artisanal miners while ensuring that their activities are legal and sustainable.
Timo Olkkonen, Head of the European Union Delegation in South Sudan, said that the ministerial meeting serves as a summary of the discussions over the past two days, focusing on strategies for adding value to minerals with a strong commitment to transparency and labor rights.
“The European Union fully supports this endeavor under the broader objective of promoting peace, democracy, and sustainable development in the Great Lakes region, The aim is to transform the root causes of insecurity and instability into opportunities, unlocking the region’s potential, in line with the European Green Deal’s commitment to climate-friendly economic growth,” said Olkkonen.
For his part, Joao Samuel Caholo, Executive Secretary of the ICGLR called for the implementation of the resolutions of the meeting, adding that this is the only way for the Greater Lakes region to address the illegal smuggling of mineral resources.
