The impact of Covid-19 on gold and gemstone artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Ghana and Kenya

ABSTRACT

Artisanal and small-scale miners are facing unprecedented challenges due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The paper adopts a practice-based approach to examine the impact of Covid-19 on gold and gemstone artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) practices in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the informality of ASM and discusses how the Ghana and Kenya governments’ measures have significantly increased the vulnerabilities of the miners and mining communities. Based on a document analysis of the governments’ responses to Covid-19, mining industry reports, and interviews with 29 mining stakeholders in Ghana and Kenya, the paper identifies the economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on gold and gemstone ASM in both countries. We highlight the key policy challenges and suggest actions that can help mitigate the negative impacts the pandemic has had on ASM, which include the need to address informality in the ASM sub-sector.

KEYWORDS:

• artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)
• Covid-19
• informal business
• sub-Saharan Africa
• sustainable mining
• gold and gemstone value chain

Acknowledgements

The research work in Kenya was supported by the University of Nottingham Internal Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Scheme for the “Co-Production of Sustainable Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Kenya: A Cultural Animation Approach” – the Sust-ASM project (www.sustainable-asm.com). We wish to acknowledge the research assistance of Rachel Hongo. We are grateful to Moses Kiggundu, a co-editor of the Africa Journal of Management, for his constructive feedback on the earlier drafts of the manuscript. We would like to thank the special issue editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions towards improving our manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Nottingham.

Notes on contributors

Judy N. Muthuri

Judy N. Muthuri is an Associate Professor in Corporate Social Responsibility at Nottingham University Business School. She chairs the Social and Environmental Responsibility Group mandated to drive the School’s sustainability and responsible business and management agenda. Her expertise is in business and social development. She has an interest in understanding and influencing how state and non-state actors address the Sustainable Development Goals in their policies and practices. She is the Principal Investigator of the “Co-production of Sustainable Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in Kenya: A Cultural Animation Approach”, SustASM project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund, United Kingdom.

Aditya Jain

Aditya Jain is an Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at Nottingham University Business School and Head of the Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management Department. His expertise lies in work, health and well-being policy and practice. His research has focused on policy evaluation of occupational health and safety policy, particularly policies relating to mental health at work, and business and societal sustainability. He has over 50 scientific publications and his research has been acknowledged for its impact and has been published as guidance by the European Commission, WHO, ILO and standards by the British Standards Institution, and informed organizational policies and practices.

Arthur A. O. Ndegwa

Arthur A.O. Ndegwa is the Dean of the School of Mines and Engineering at the Taita Taveta University, Kenya. Before joining academia thirteen years ago, Arthur worked in different portfolios in the Public Sector where he rose to be Chief Mining Engineer. His areas of expertise include mineral policy & legislation, mining taxation, negotiation of mineral agreements, valuation of minerals, appraisal of mining projects, petroleum administration, blasting explosives, environmental impacts of mining, rehabilitation of disused mines, and artisanal & small-scale mining. He is a member of the SustASM project and has a very strong network in the mining sector.

Shadrack Mwakio Mwagandi

Shadrack Mwakio Mwagandi is a Lecturer of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Social Sciences at Taita Taveta University, Kenya. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing his PhD in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development at the same university. Mwagandi is presently working with mining stakeholders in Kenya in the SustASM project. His other research interests include entrepreneurship, small business development, business management and marketing.

Naa Dedei Tagoe

Naa Dedei Tagoe is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Mines and Technology, and the Project Coordinator for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) in Ghana. Her research interests include the application of Remote Sensing, GIS, Photogrammetry and UAV in Natural Resource Management. She obtained her BSc degree in Geodetic Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; her MSc degree in Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics from Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, Germany; and her PhD in Geomatics from the University of Cape Town.