Stiffer penalties for illegal sand miners
Boniface Keakabetse | Wednesday February 8, 2017 17:04
At a Manufactured Sand Pitso held here recently, director of mines Sellinah Mogojwa said the amended Mines and Minerals Act is expected to be passed by Parliament, containing the relevant stiffer penalties. She said the draft proposes that property of illegal miners such as tipper trucks, earthmoving machines and other equipment used for committing the crime be confiscated by Government and sold by auction.
She said government had resorted to tough measures as it realised that the P1,000 fines currently being charged were not enough to deter illegal miners.
She stated that although the law makes it clear that miners should have a valid mining licence and employ environmentally friendly methods, illegal mining has become rampant. Mogojwa further explained that illegal sand mining poses environment and health hazards nationally.
“We are challenged by the depletion of sand emanating from indiscriminate sand harvesting and associated environmental impacts rampant in the southern part of the country as a result of construction boom.”
Mogojwa expressed fear that the construction of Mohembo Bridge could worsen illegal mining in Okavango district. Mogojwa said her department is encouraging usage of manufactured sand to relieve pressure on river systems.
Assistant Superintendent Moatlhodi Ntuane of Maun Police told the Pitso that his office recorded two fatalities in connection with illegal mining. The victims, he said, had been caught and suffocated by collapsing pit sand. Ntuane said since 2015, 17 people had been charged in Maun for illegal sand mining.
For their part, sand miners complained about the slow process of their applications for prospecting licences.