Rwanda government improving inspection and controls

Since the start of the iTSCi Programme across Rwanda in 2010, we have worked closely with government staff of the Rwanda Mines Board (RMB) to ensure tracea-bility and due diligence is in place for all 3T minerals exported from the country.

Traceability relies on RMB mineral field officers carrying out activities such as monitoring mine sites, and recording traceability and tag data for all companies. In the early years of implementation mineral field officers were recruited by RMB and trained in traceability with the assistance of iTSCi, but they faced a number of chal-lenges, especially in accessing remote sites and coping with increasing numbers of mining companies and active mines. These factors contributed to potential risks of fraudulent activities in the minerals sector and potential improvements were a frequent topic of discussion.

Recently, RMB decided to further improve controls at mines in Rwanda through redistribution of the mineral field officers in local districts. This new strategy restructures the key field resources to add a new supervisor in each district to manage officers allocated on more detailed analysis of the companies present in each area. In addition, the mineral field officers have increased responsibilities for inspection of the mine operations. This new strategy is already improving the management of staff and the sector overall.