SITUATION ANALYSIS OF THE SMALL-SCALE GOLD ... - WWF

13.2 Langatete Zone
13.3 Cottica Zone
13.4 Lower Asisi Zone
14 Benzdorp Region
14.1 Benzdorp Zone
14.2 Njam Creek Zone
14.3 Kawemhakan Zone
14.4 Mappe and Schreuder Creek Zone
14.5 Upper Asisi Creek
* Road access
We choose demarcations with the objective of creating manageable zones in which the
government and the mining authorities, private sector, a community, or a combination of
the three, could establish or develop existing management systems, offer assistance and
exert control. We noted in chapter I that the government does not have adequate
administrative presence in the interior, and in most mining regions there is no presence at
all. In the model developed by Noetstaller, it was noted that insufficient government
income translates into inadequate operational resources. So even if the Minister of
Natural Resources would want to establish a strong presence in the mining zones, under
the current circumstances the costs would be prohibitive. The challenge is to break out of
these negative circles of cause and effect.
One way to do that is to discover the organizational patterns per region. Once further
field study has defined the most practical delimitation of the regions, consideration could
be given to the establishment of organizational structures. Existing organizational
systems and patterns should be taken seriously, as they could contain key elements that
could contribute to the effective organization of regions and the constituent zones.
Existing concession management systems that are effective could be used by the
government as a basis for further organizational development. A key ingredient here is
the organization of miners by region.
The organization of miners on a regional and perhaps even a zone basis, that is, bringing
together, under an organizational umbrella, concession holder, equipment owners and
individual miners who wish to join. The mining regions and zones should be surveyed
and concession holders and equipment owners as well as miners could be consulted about
setting up such an organization. It is critical that this effort not be seen as a trick by the
government to register miners and collect taxes. The primary focus should be on
assistance, to serve the well-being and interests of the members, and facilitate the
promotion. and adoption of improved practices This should be a private sector initiative
supported by the Chamber of Commerce and by other business and industry
organizations.
With an organization of miners in place, consideration could be given to the
establishment of assistance and support for improve practices and negative impacts
103