- During a press conference organised by SYNATRAME
- The union deplores the lack of vision in the career plans of agents
- Many difficulties undermine the proper functioning of the mining sector
- Make the permanent presence of agents in the industrial mine effective
- Create a mining and energy civil service
On Thursday 19 January 2023 in Ouagadougou, the National Union of Mining and Energy Workers (SYNATRAME) organised a press conference on their working conditions. The aim of the conference was to denounce the difficulties faced by workers at the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Quarries (MEMC), to express their frustration with the management of the ministry and to present the content of their platform of demands.
At the beginning of the conference, the Secretary General (SG) of SYNATRAME Augustin Sebgo listed several difficulties in the functioning of the ministry. According to him, “Despite the great contribution of the energy and mining sector, the country is experiencing major difficulties. The difficulties include the impossibility of carrying out certain monitoring and inspection missions, the accentuation of anarchy in the artisanal exploitation sub-sector, etc.
“At present, monitoring and control missions are not carried out, due to a lack of resources because our budget depends on the state budget. There is also a serious lack of vehicles and computer equipment”, according to the SG.
On human resources management, the union deplores the lack of vision in the career plans of agents, and the failure to promote internal skills to technical and decision-making positions.
After listing the difficulties they encounter in the exercise of their duties, SYNATRAME made proposals to the Burkinabe State.
These include providing the technical structures with the means to monitor and implement local content for the benefit of national companies, and correcting the shortcomings in the application of certain regulatory texts of the mining code.
According to Augustin Sebgo, “It is necessary to make the permanent presence of agents on the industrial mine effective for the monitoring of production and the collection of data”. This proposal is justified: “During our control missions, we surprised a mine that was illegally exploiting a pit”, he confided.
In terms of human resources management, the union proposes to create a mining and energy civil service adapted to the requirements of the sector, and to strengthen the capacities of agents through specific training. SYNATRAME also demanded the swearing in of personnel in charge of monitoring and controlling mining and energy activities; the acceleration of the creation of a metal refinery in Burkina Faso and the implementation of a policy to promote national champions in industrial mining.
Rachid Ouedraogo
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
