Stemming the Tide of Illegal Mining in Enugu State, as Mbah Takes Active Measures
By Ohayi Ukwueze
Illegal mining of mineral resources in Enugu State had gone on for many years untill the advent of the Mbah Administration. It would appear previous administrations in the state did not so much as looked into the illegal mining activities in the state. They could be excused on the grounds that mining is an exclusive reserve of the Federal Government. Nonetheless, it is also a mine of revenue for the state government in terms of ecological and environmental charges fees and taxes. Quite another is that we are all aware of the level of control the Zamfara State Government exerts of gold mining in the state. So, why would Enugu shirk its control over the mining of mineral deposits in its land?
No one knew that coal was still being mined in Enugu State. We had thought the mining of coal in the state was an age-long activity, as the known coal mines had gone moribund, and now serve as monuments of history to posterity. No one knew that the Chinese had surreptitiously crept into coal mines in some parts of Enugu, and had over the years been exploiting them for use in China. It is said that over 60% of energy source for China is from coal illegally mined and shipped to China from Enugu State. Story has it that some government officials and local chiefs connived with the illegal mining companies who pay fees and charges to them without a dime coming to the state’s coffers. Revenues that should have help to develop the state are frittered away into private pockets while the people suffer. Some commissioners for environment and mineral resources are being fingered to have perpetrated these illegal deals. This is something that the Mbah Administration has to investigate and bring all the culprits to book.
The efforts of Mbah Administration to stop illegal mining in Enugu, the revenue leakages and the attendant environmental degradation occasioned by unregulated mining and deforestation are quite commendable.
Illegal mining had gone in Enugu for long untill the Mbah Administration discovered it, and has swung into action to put an end to it. Governor Mbah had set up Committee on Review of Mining Activities in Enugu State chaired by the Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Sam Ugwu. The committee discovered heavy mining of coal in Awhum in Udi Local Government and other places like Akwuke, and Nsude communities also in Udi Local Government. Besides coal mining, the same Chinese are also involved in deforestation and felling of economic trees in some places. A typical example obtains in Akachele Obimo in Nsukka Local Government where a Chinese company indiscriminately without any regulation fells trees they use for charcoal production which they ship to China for battery production. The said Chinese company does not remit a dime to Enugu State Government. Meanwhile, unauthorized persons collect fees and charges from them for self. So many cases of illegal mines and burrow pits obtain in the state. But all that has come to an end as Mbah wades in.
A taskforce has been also set by the Mbah Administration to enforce the sealing of the illegal sites of mining in the state. The taskforce discovered that at the mining sites in these places, a number of heavy trucks, excavators, caterpillars and trailers loaded with coal among other machinery abound. All these had gone on unchecked in the past. The implication is that coal is being mined at commercial quantities in these places without any remittance of necessary fees, charges and taxes to the state government. Besides the non remittance of fees and charges to the state, the environmental hazards to which the state is being exposed as a result of these illegal mining activities should not be treated with levity. The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Sam Ugwu, had decried the extensive damage illegal coal miners had done to the environment in the state. The implication is that the state is at the risk of environmental disaster should the illegal mining activities go unchecked. The sealing of the illegal mining sites and the legal action taken by the Mbah Administration are quite commendable. If the miners have licences from the Federal Government, they had better show them, and then get things harmonized with the state government and ensure precautionary and safety measures are in place to avoid endangering the lives of Ndi Enugu by exposing the land to ecological hazards.
The prompt intervention of the Mbah Administration is a pointer to the fact that Governor Mbah has eye on details and due process. He is a meticulous leader who is proactively abreast of developments, and readily has solutions at hand with which to confront challenges. Mbah in his manifesto had included mineral resources as part of the integrated productive sector of the Enugu economy that would be upscaled for optimal engagement in the developmental trajectories of the state. On his vision to shore up the Enugu economy to N30 billion GDP size, he had profiled the sectors, and strategically made provisions for the expected inputs and outputs. Little wonder he discovered the illegal mining activities going on for years without interruption.
The Enugu State Government under Mbah’s watch should continue in this drive to cleanse the Augean stable. The illegal miners should be brought to book, made to ameliorate the exposure of the state to environmental hazards, and caused to pay arrears of unremitted taxes, fees and charges. All those involved in shortchanging the state by conniving with illegal miners to exploit the state and its resources should also be brought to book. With Mbah on the throne, it is indeed business unusual. Tomorrow is here.
