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Same district gold rush puts residents’ lives at risk

By Staff Writer

Residents of the villages surrounding the Shengena Mountain forest reserves in Same District of Kilimanjaro have expressed health concerns regarding gold mining activities taking place in the woodland.

Lodging their complaints before the area Member of Parliament, Mrs Anne-Kilango Malecela, the villagers explained that the rivers that have been providing them with clean waters have now been heavily polluted with chemicals from the mining activities in the Shengena forest.

“We have been warned by experts who visited the area recently that the chemicals used to extract the minerals from their ores were deadly toxins and that they have been dissolving into both the soil and water, we are thus worried,” said Mr Msese a resident of Bwambo village.

Another resident, Mr Samuel Yohana explained that, the water from natural springs and rivers originating from the forest used to be sparkling clear but of late the formerly clean precious liquid has attained dark brownish color resembling black tea, indicating possible case of poisoned water.

Elders in the area have also lamented that, some plants have also started to change color and the areas through which the intoxicated river water flow are experiencing drying trees and withering plants, indicating that the chemicals that have infiltrated into the water were harmful to living organisms.

The miners, according to the villagers, have also been diverting the course of local streams and rivers so as to create wider area on which to conduct their activities which were already destructive to the biodiversity.

The Chairman of the Same District Council, Mr Christopher Irira admitted that indeed mining activities in the Shengena Forest reserves were risking local people’s lives through the pollution of water sources.

The activities were also endangering species of wild animals including the forest’s trademark black and white Colobus monkeys.

Mr Irira however pointed out that there was an even bigger problem connected with the ‘gold mining’ schemes in the woodland.

“The miners have been felling trees at an alarming rate and we fear that the forest cover may soon be depleted and this will be disastrous to not only to the Same area residents but the entire nation because the Pangani river basin also depend on water flowing from Shengena reserves,” said the Same District Council’s chairman.
The area MP stated that after visiting the affected areas she was satisfied that the problems arising from irresponsible mining activities in Shengena Forest reserves were serious things that needed prompt attention and that she was going to act on it.

“But let’s face it, people who are destroying the environment in the name of ‘gold digging’ are not aliens, but local people, some of them your own sons, or relatives which means as local residents you can stop them,” said Mrs Malecela.

The invasion of Shengena Forest by miners started in 2010 when the matter was reported before the former Minister for Natural resources and Tourism Mr Ezekiel Maige who sacked some officials in the forest department of the MNRT in connection with the problem but the practice continued to flourish.

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