The following are Problems facing the mining sector in East Africa
- Inadequate capital for the mining process which is very expensive.
- Minerals are non-renewable resources and will get exhausted with time e.g. copper was exhausted at Kilembe.
- Poor transport networks making mineral zones very difficult to reach.
- Political instabilities especially in Uganda e.g. ADF rebels who destabilized Kasese affected investment in copper mining.
- Some minerals are expensive to exploit because they are buried deep underground e.g. gold in Bushenyi.
- Shortage of skilled man power to undertake the mining activities leading to hiring of expatriates who are very expensive.
- Inadequate market for East Africas minerals because they are of poor quality.
- There is limited research and exploration to discover new mineral zones.
- Some minerals are available in very small quantities and therefore not economically viable e.g. gold in Karamoja.
- Most of the mining companies are owned by foreigners who normally take profits back to their home countries.
- When the minerals are exhausted, the towns which had developed turn into ghost cities with problems of unemployment e.g. Kilembe.
- Many of the towns e.g. Kakamega which grew up because of mining are faced with problems of congestion and crimes e.t.c.
Solution to the above problems
- Government should seek aid and grants from development countries to widen the capital base.
- Investments should be made in research and exploration to get new mineral zones.
- International advertisements should be done to widen market for local minerals.
- Government should improve transport facilities in the mining areas e.g. upgrading roads from murram to tarmac.
- Political instability should be encouraged to attract more foreign investors.
- The government should encourage on-site mineral processing to produce high quality products.
- New courses should be introduced at different learning institutions to produce enough skilled labour force.
- Diversification of the economy to reduce dependence on mining.
Government should carry out market research to get new markets for East Africans minerals
