Licensing of artisanal mining on private land in Uganda: social and economic implications for female spouses and women entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT

Based on research conducted from October 2015 through June 2018, this paper highlights the social and economic implications of licensing artisanal mining on women’s land rights in Uganda. It also brings to the fore how artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) governance is affecting women’s participation in the sector. It examines how women as spouses and as entrepreneurs in the ASM sector are affected by the prevailing local governance structures and land tenure arrangements; the arrangements in place to ensure that female spouses get a share of compensation and other long-term benefits from ASM; and the ramifications of the lacuna between policy and enforcement on spouses and on women engaged in the ASM sector. The results show that the rights of women in the ASM sector are subjugated to social cultural practices, contradictory laws regarding women’s land rights, poor law enforcement, and weak structures for ASM governance.

RÉSUMÉ

Basé sur des recherches conduites entre octobre 2015 et juin 2018, cet article met en lumière les implications sociales et économiques de l’octroi de licences d’exploitation minière artisanale sur les droits fonciers des femmes en Ouganda. Il met également en évidence la façon dont la gouvernance de l’exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle (EMAPE) affecte la participation des femmes dans le secteur. Il examine comment les femmes, en tant que conjointes et entrepreneures dans le secteur de l’EMAPE sont affectées par les structures de gouvernance locale et les régimes fonciers en vigueur; les dispositions en place pour faire en sorte que les conjointes reçoivent une part de la rémunération et des autres avantages à long terme de l’EMAPE; et les ramifications de la lacune entre la politique et l’application de la loi sur les conjoints et sur les femmes engagées dans le secteur de l’EMAPE. Les résultats montrent que les droits des femmes engagées dans le secteur de l’EMAPE sont soumis aux pratiques socioculturelles, aux lois contradictoires concernant les droits fonciers des femmes, à la mauvaise application des lois et à la faiblesse des structures de gouvernance de l’EMAPE.

KEYWORDS:

• Private registered land
• artisanal mining
• women’s surface rights
• legal pluralism
• hybrid governance

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Terres privées immatriculées
• exploitation minière artisanale
• droits de superficie des femmes
• pluralisme juridique
• gouvernance hybride

Acknowledgments

This paper is based on data collected under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GROW Initiative) Program supported by IDRC, DFID and The Hewlett Foundation entitled Understanding Women’s Experiences in Artisanal and Small Scale Mining in Central and East Africa: No.: 107820-001, whose generous funding supported our research. We are very grateful to the funders without whose support this work would not have been possible. Special thanks go to our research partners: Professors Blair Rutherford and Doris Buss (Carleton University) who provided valuable comments that helped to shape the content of this paper; Giséle Eva Côté and Joanne Lebert (IMPACT/Partnership Africa Canada) who helped coordinate all the research activities; and Dr Jennifer Hinton. We are equally indebted to our research assistants, Jonathan Ngobi, Joyce Zawede, Rosette Kyarisiima and Thomas Kanooti, for their tireless efforts, particularly during the long and arduous data collection exercise.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This is further emphasized in the new draft Mining and Minerals Policy of 2018.

2. Crown land is generally referred to as “the 9000 square miles” and is contested by the Buganda Kingdom, while public land was the land that had been delineated by the colonial government for public use. In 1993, crown land was transferred back to the Buganda Kingdom as public mailo land and it is now under the jurisdiction of the Buganda Land Board. The mailo tenure system is akin to freehold tenure and is a local adaptation of the English freehold; it acquired its name from the unit of measurement (mile) at the time. It is almost exclusive to central Uganda though it is also prevalent in some areas in the west (Kibale district). Like freehold tenure, mailo tenure bestows absolute ownership which can be bought, sold, and inherited. Also see Henry West (1967).

3. It is very difficult and rare for heirs to take up the responsibility of updating the records. Usually, there are several heirs to the land and it requires knowledge, money, and time for the interested parties to take steps in sub-dividing the land according to portions allocated by the deceased owner.

4. A location licence is a licence for prospecting and mining operations by methods which do not use specialized technology and do not involve substantial expenditure. A two-year licence costs USD 450.

5. USD 1 = UGX 3,372. Source: Bank of Uganda (31 December 2015).

6. The term kibanja is used in the local context to refer a piece of land held by a tenant on registered land; the plural is bibanja.

7. Interviewees repeatedly intimated that “big shots” in government rally behind and/or sponsor the ongoing investment; many suggested that some officials at the various governance levels receive heavy kickbacks for supporting the association.

8. We were unable to verify this at the magistrate court in the sub-county.

9. Meaning spouses have to give consent for any transaction involving family land.

10. Family land here refers to land on which family residence is located or land that the family agrees is used for the sustenance of its livelihood.

11. The land law has, since its enactment, been amended three times.

12. Cases of evictions are published in the nation’s daily newspapers.

13. The commissioner is the officer in charge of the Geological Survey and Mines responsible for approving the location licence, and is the arbiter as well as the chief supervisor of ASM activities.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the International Development Research Centre [107820-001].

Notes on contributors

Abby Sebina-Zziwa

Abby Sebina-Zziwa is a senior research associate at the Development Research and Social Policy Analysis Centre (DRASPAC) and a private consultant on land, gender and property rights following a 25-year research career at the Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University. She has a PhD in anthropology (University of Copenhagen) and an MA in international affairs and African development (American University). She has vast experience in interdisciplinary research and has led several research projects on gender and land rights at both national and regional levels. Currently, she consults with Uganda’s Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, and she chairs the Technical Committee on Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification.

Richard Kibombo

Richard Kibombo is a senior research fellow and an evaluation specialist at the Development Research and Social Policy Analysis Centre. He has a master of science degree in statistics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, and a bachelor of statistics degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. He has vast experience in research, evaluations, and data processing. He has conducted a number of multi-disciplinary and multi-country research studies and evaluations in diverse fields, especially in the areas of education, health, and natural resource management.