Fieldwork: May & June 2014

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.