Rutsiro,28 September 2022, the mayor of the district of Rutsiro chaired a meeting on evaluating the status of mining activities being carried out in the district. The meeting was attended by representative of RMB and members of the district mining task force.  In attendance was also non-governmental organizations namely APEDDH (Action pour l’Education et la Defense de Droits Humains), and PACT.

The meeting appraised the progress being made by mining operators in the district. It also exchanged views on key interventions to be made to keep mining sector on track despite challenges related to illegal miners. The meeting took viable measures and strategies to addressing the issues found after a two-day joint inspection from 26 September through 27 September 2022  made by APEDDH,PACT  and RMB  to two concessions namely PROMICO and Better Generation Mining operating in Gihango sector.

Mining activities in the district of Rutsiro amount to nearly ninety tons of monthly production of minerals. These minerals largely include 3Ts.

PACT  representative in the meeting mentioned that mining activities are helpful to the community as nearly 1 million people benefit from this ever-thriving extractive industry. He argued that mining has proven to be  a source of local employment and largely contributes to the national economy.

RMB representative raised an awareness pertaining to mining laws. He reminded concession owners that prioritizing corporate social services must be an integral part of their activities. This includes building schools for the local communities, transforming their socio-economic living conditions,and doing anything else that can translate into social welfare of the communities living near the mines.

The task force was asked to step up their efforts to ensure that inspections are constantly carried out. The meeting also took a resolve to fight against corruption and  malpractices related to illegal mining.