Gaborone, Botswana – Southern Africa has been urged to ramp up its efforts against the growing threat of mineral crimes, as regional leaders, law enforcement officials and partners warned that illegal mining, smuggling, corruption and money laundering are draining public revenues and undermining governance across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Speaking at the Southern Africa Regional Workshop on Combating Mineral Crimes, held in Gaborone from recently, Botswana Police Service National Commissioner Dinah Marathe said mineral crime had become a regional security threat that could only be addressed through a unified and multi‑sectoral response.
She said SADC member states already had guiding frameworks in place, including the SADC Protocol on Mining and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020–2030, but stressed that these must now be matched by practical enforcement.
The workshop brought together police services, anti‑corruption agencies, environmental enforcement authorities, financial intelligence units (FIUs), mining regulators, prosecutors and regional partners, including INTERPOL, in a bid to strengthen cooperation across the mineral supply chain.
Commissioners and experts warned that criminal syndicates were exploiting porous borders and regulatory weaknesses to move illicit minerals, evade taxes and launder proceeds through complex financial systems. They said the region’s vast deposits of lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, graphite and rare earth elements – minerals critical to electric vehicles, solar panels and battery technologies – were increasingly being targeted by organised criminal networks.
Ms Marathe called for greater investment in capacity building and modern technology to equip law enforcement officers to deal with increasingly sophisticated criminal operations.
Japan also pledged continued support for regional efforts.
Ms Satomi Ishihara, First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Botswana, said SADC’s critical minerals must be protected from illegal mining and organised crime if they are to support inclusive economic growth and the global green energy transition. She said Japan remained committed through initiatives such as the Rule of Law and Judicial Strengthening Partnership (RISE) and the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD‑9).
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative Giovanni Broussard said stronger regional and international cooperation was urgently needed to dismantle mineral crime networks, while also calling for harmonised laws and stronger institutions to tackle the problem.
Ms Kealaboga Moruti, representing the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs, said mineral crimes were depriving member states of revenue meant for development and that national responses alone were no longer sufficient.
Delegates focused their discussions on intelligence sharing, joint investigations, traceability of minerals, due diligence in supply chains, and closer cooperation with mining companies, transport operators and financial institutions to identify suspicious activity.
The meeting ended with agreement on concrete action points to be submitted to the Ministerial Committee of the Organ for consideration and approval, setting the stage for coordinated regional implementation. – New Ziana
