Good afternoon. It is welcome news that the Dutch government has come to the rescue of the polluted waterways of Manica province, which have been ruined by the effects of unlicensed and uncontrolled gold mining there (see below). For months now, swarms of people have been descending on the province, prompted by recent gold finds and a rise in gold prices. There has been frenzied panning for gold in rivers and digging up of farmland. Farmers, who rely on the rivers to irrigate their fields, have watched their crops being destroyed.
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All the same, cleaning up the rivers is not going to address the malpractice that enables the problem. Aside from the fact that a lot of poor people have been looking for gold because they are desperate to earn a living, there is the fact that they have enjoyed the cooperation of corrupt local officials. The humble garimpeiro who wades into a muddy river with a plastic bowl sells their gold to smuggling networks who work in collaboration with those officials. And the more organised (but still destructive and often illegal) mining done by mining companies, mostly Chinese, requires the political connections provided by elites in the ruling Frelimo party.
