The second round of fieldwork took place over the period May-June 2014. It was mainly qualitative in nature and complements the information gathered in 2013. In order to improve our understanding of the perceptions and expectations of different stakeholders we conducted semi-structured interviews with a wide range of informants. The following table offers an overview of people we interviewed, inluding public officials and representatives of mining cooperatives, civil society organizations and Banro.
type | Interviewee | field of expertise | |
1 | public | the director of the Bukavu division of SAESSCAM (Service d’Assistance et d’Encadrement du Small-Scale et Artisanal Mining) | small-scale and artisanal mining in South-Kivu |
2 | public | FARDC colonel | conflicts and rebel movements in vicinity of mining sites in South-Kivu |
3 | public | local administrator of Kamituga (“Chef de poste”) | general information about Kamituga |
4 | public | police chief of Kamituga | conflicts and crime in Kamituga |
5 | cooperative | president of GECOMISKI (Générale des Coopératives Minières du Sud Kivu) | overarching organisation for all cooperatives of artisanal miners in South-Kivu |
6 | cooperative | president of CPACAM (Coopérative Principale des Associations des Creuseurs Artisanaux) | cooperative of artisanal miners |
7 | committee | president of COKA (Comité des Orpailleurs de Kamituga) | committee of artisanal miners |
8 | think tank | director of CRESA (Centre de Recherche et d’Etudes Stratégiques en Afrique Centrale) | governance, conflict resolution, mining sector |
9 | NGO | director of OGP (Observatoire Gouvernance et Paix) | sustainable management of mineral resources, governance, peace |
10 | private | public relations manager of Kamituga mining, Banro’s subsidiary operating in Kamituga | Banro, relationship ASM – LSM in Kamituga |
11 | private | Banro’s vice president of stakeholder relationships | Banro, relationship ASM – LSM in South-Kivu |
We also visited several mining zones in Kamituga and organised two focus group discussions with five artisanal miners. In the focus group discussions we asked about recent changes in Kamituga’s mining sector and how these affected artisanal miner’s livelihoods. We discussed potential future developments and asked miners which alternative activities they would consider should they be forced to leave the ASM-sector in Kamituga. To facilitate the discussion, we used a number of drawings representing different income-generating activities. The drawings were made for us by a local artist in Bukavu: Francesco Nyamo.