The Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT) is asking President
Mkapa to form a team to probe the allegations that some miners who rejected
a government order to move out the area were buried in the mines.
           In their letter to the President a copy of which was made available
to The Guardian, LEAT says the government should form an independent team to
investigate circumstances in 1996 before the miners were evicted at the mines
located about 50 kilometres south of Lake Victoria.
           According to the letter, signed by their president, Rugemeleza
Nshala, the miners were forced to move out of the area despite a court order
which restrained the government from effecting the decision.
           The High Court in Tabora granted an injunction which ordered the
Kahama Mining Corporation, the government or any other agent to refrain from
evicting small scale miners at the mines.
           The government rejected the call to form a probe team in 1996 after
the then Shinyanga Regional Commissioner, Major Gen (ret) Tumaniel Kiwelu,
refuted the death reports.
           The lawyers also call for a review of the agreement between the
government and the Barrick Gold Corporation which owns KMCL saying government
revenue from the investment were peanuts compared with what the investors reap.
           In the agreement made before the Barrick Gold Corporation acquired
the mines in 1999, the government gets 5 million US dollars annually for 15
years while the owners will reap 3bn/- US dollars, LEAT claims.
           The bone of contention is the fact that the deal was sealed when gold resource
base at Bulyanhulu was established at 3.6 million ounces. KMCL says it has now
established the reserves have tripled to 10 million ounces, the lawyers claim.
           LEAT claims the Barrick Gold Corporation did not tell the government
the truth about the gold resource in the area during the signing of the
agreement to acquire the mines, the letter alleges.
           The lawyers also allege that the investors deliberately put the reserves at 3.6
million ounces to lower its value and the government blindly fell for it.
           "It is obvious this investment is not of benefit to Tanzania but it
transfers the country's resources outside...," the letter reads in part.
           According to LEAT, the fact that Tanzania is becoming Africa's largest gold
producing country does not reflect properly on how the wealth will benefit the nation.
           They claim they have statistics, said to come from the National Executive Council
of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, which show the government revenue from gold declined from
13.04bn/- in 1993 to 1.6bn in 1996.
           The revenue reached the peak when the Central Bank was buying gold
directly from the artisanal miners, their statistics show.
           The lawyers also say local people, who were evicted or whose lives
were affected when the mines were acquired by the new owners, deserve
compensation from the new owners.
           They plead with the government to press Barrick Gold Corporation to
make the compensation saying the new investors were financially capable and
morally responsible to make the payments.
           Bulyanhulu mines started full production last April.