The Togolese government has recently issued a call for tenders for the selection of a consultant to assist in the process of rehabilitating and closing certain mining sites. The operation is more concerned with quarries that have not been opened with the government's permission.
The Togolese Ministry of Mines and Energy wants to develop a guide for the development of a management, closure or rehabilitation plan for wild quarries. To this end, it has just launched a call for expressions of interest for the selection of a consultant to work with them in this task. The operation is part of the Mining Development and Governance Project (MGDP).
The company selected following the Togolese government’s call for tenders will not only be responsible for proposing a guide for manoeuvring, it will also be in charge of organising all visits to abandoned or operating abandoned quarry sites. To achieve this, the company will also have to consult local populations, economic operators and other stakeholders to gather their opinions on techniques for the rehabilitation and closure of quarries whose opening had not been preceded by environmental expertise.
Finally, it is on the basis of the guide proposed by the consultant that the authorities will trigger the closure of wild quarries. These include sand and gravel extraction sites. According to the National Environmental Management Agency (dubbed ANGE in french), in the Maritime region alone, where the capital Lomé is located, 100 unauthorised quarries are in operation without an environmental compliance certificate. The resources thus extracted are used for construction in large cities such as Lomé.
In 2018, to address this situation, the ANGE and the Togolese Ministry of Mines and Energy created a 15-member committee. These are mainly forest officers under the coordination of the Angel and five police officers. The purpose of this committee is to conduct deterrence patrols on the shoreline. The ultimate objective is to “effectively combat the worrying proliferation of illegal exploitation of marine sand and gravel despite bans,” says an ANGE official.
Jean Marie Takouleu
