Tensions are brewing in eastern
Cameroon between residents and small-scale Chinese gold miners who began
setting up camp there six years ago. Local miners say the Chinese have taken
away their livelihoods and are not living up to promises to develop the area.
Local miners began extracting gold around Betare Oya in 2007. Three years
later, the Chinese arrived.
Miner Emmanuel Manga says he couldn’t compete and had to become a commercial
moto driver. He says he now makes barely $60 a month, a quarter of what he used
to earn.
He says Cameroon should not allow Chinese to go so far as digging in their gold
fields or hiring laborers for very little wages to dig. He says it has made
them poor.
About 300 Chinese miners are now working in the area, far more than the 100
authorized by Cameroonian authorities.
The Chinese miners use Caterpillar tractors and equipment
that clean stones and sift soil allowing them to detect gold faster than locals
who use manual tools.
Angry locals have responded by slashing tires, vandalizing
equipment and even beating some Chinese miners. Dozens of the Chinese
have fled for safety to neighboring towns and only visit to oversee their
businesses.
Broken
promises
Adamou Assamou, the traditional ruler of the locality, says
locals have not seen any sign of the development they were promised.
He says they were told by their local authorities that all Chinese gold miners
had to buy pieces of land and construct beautiful houses in their villages but,
he adds, that has not happened. He says the Chinese have instead built
temporary camps near their mining areas and they don’t close the open pits they
dig when they are finished. He says they only see Chinese miners in town when
they come to buy food.
Locals say the gold exploitation also leaves polluted holes
and destroys vegetation and animal habitats.
But Chinese gold miner Chris Ho says his company, which is
operating with a temporary permit, has provided roads, generators and safe
drinking water.
"We have built a lot of houses; I guess a lot of
things. A lot of [Chinese] have already come here. They have brought a lot of
things and they are changing the lives of the local people because Chinese and
Cameroonians are just like together and we understand each other better,"
Ho says.
Ghana, one of the world’s top gold producing countries, has
experienced similar tensions. In 2013, the government cracked down, arresting
illegal foreign miners and ultimately deporting thousands of Chinese nationals.
Crackdown urged
Economic analyst Emmanuel Mihamle says Cameroon could crack
down as well, despite its longstanding ties to China.
Mihamle says since independence in 1960, China has built roads, hospitals,
schools and hydroelectric dams and, in return, he says Cameroon has allowed
Chinese companies to exploit and export natural resources like gold, rubber,
diamonds and wood but he adds that the understanding is that these activities
should be mutually beneficial.
In 2014, the government cracked down on what it said was the illegal export of
gold and diamonds, and suspended some foreign mining contracts.
