Meeting held to empower women miners in Great Lakes region
The Great Lakes Region is endowed with a wealth of high-value mineral resources and most of these are in high demand on the global market due to the current energy transition.
Uganda’s energy minister, Dr Ruth Nankabirwa, officiated at a regional workshop targeting women in the mining sector. This was at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Wednesday.
The theme of the 3-day Project Workshop was “Strengthening Women and Youth’s Ownership of the Regional Initiative on Natural Resources (RINR).
Nankabirwa said the launched project should contribute to more transparent mining management of natural resources leading to shared prosperity, lasting peace and sustainable development in the Great Lakes Region.
She informed participants that Uganda continues to strengthen its legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the Mining Sub-sector. She said that the new Mining and Minerals Act will go a long way to streamline the Mining industry.
She explained that the new law aims at ensuring value addition and improvement in regulation and inspection, national content development and maximizing the government’s take from the mining industry while supporting the private sector to achieve their targets.
Ambassador Liberata Mulamula who represents the advisory board for women, peace and security in the Great Lakes Region noted that the launched project should formalize the artisan miners by promoting gender, women and youth’s participation in the mining sector.
The Great Lakes Region is endowed with a wealth of high-value mineral resources and most of these are in high demand on the global market due to the current energy transition.
This however is bogged by the informal and often illegal nature of mineral exploitation and trade, the region’s countries and communities have received very limited benefits.
Women and youth continue to be the most marginalised groups with little involvement in the management and benefits of the Great Lakes Mining sector.
Serigne Diene, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes, said the regional project is designed to be the first step in addressing the wider issue of full participation of women and youth in sustainable peace and development in the Great Lakes Africa Region.
“In these areas of instability, women and youth are often the hardest hit, having unfortunately not been spared the persistent economic challenges caused by #COVID19,” says Serigne Diene.
Koen Van Acoleyen, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Belgium in Uganda, explained that the project originated from the priorities of the UN Strategy for Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention and Resolution in the region.
He said: “Women are drivers of peace. Youth are the most dynamic actors. We hope the project will empower you with the tools you need to contribute to lasting peace in Great Lakes Africa Region,”
