“I am also under pressure” : Challenges in public social protection for workers in Rwanda’s formalised small-scale mining sector
(2026) In Extractive Industries and Society 28.- Abstract
This article examines the underexplored issue of public social protection in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Social protection is defined as public actions taken in response to levels of vulnerability, risk, and deprivation considered socially unacceptable within a given society and polity. Drawing on a study of ASM in Rwanda, the article identifies a range of state-led policies implemented in the sector to protect miners. These include workplace-based measures such as occupational health and safety regulations, as well as broader citizen protection programmes that are not sector-specific, including the Ejoheza pension scheme and the Mutuelle de Santé community health insurance scheme. The article draws on the concept... (More)
This article examines the underexplored issue of public social protection in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Social protection is defined as public actions taken in response to levels of vulnerability, risk, and deprivation considered socially unacceptable within a given society and polity. Drawing on a study of ASM in Rwanda, the article identifies a range of state-led policies implemented in the sector to protect miners. These include workplace-based measures such as occupational health and safety regulations, as well as broader citizen protection programmes that are not sector-specific, including the Ejoheza pension scheme and the Mutuelle de Santé community health insurance scheme. The article draws on the concept of infrastructures of inclusion, developed in science and technology studies and anthropology, to examine the implementation challenges of these initiatives and the politics surrounding their establishment and maintenance. From this perspective, public social protection in Rwanda’s ASM is understood as part of a broader state project that seeks to render mining sites legible in order to increase mineral production while improving workers’ protection. Conceptualising the actors, institutions and relations involved as infrastructures of capitalist production places the politics of mineral production at the centre of analyses of ASM governance challenges.
(Less)
- author
- Rushemuka, Maxime Ndanyuzwe LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Artisanal and small-scale mining sector, Infrastructures of inclusion, Rwanda, Social protection
- in
- Extractive Industries and Society
- volume
- 28
- article number
- 101969
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105041069348
- ISSN
- 2214-790X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.exis.2026.101969
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 071183ee-164d-424d-a066-5fa7a2f29ed9
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-03 10:54:22
- date last changed
- 2026-07-03 10:55:30
@article{071183ee-164d-424d-a066-5fa7a2f29ed9,
abstract = {{<p>This article examines the underexplored issue of public social protection in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Social protection is defined as public actions taken in response to levels of vulnerability, risk, and deprivation considered socially unacceptable within a given society and polity. Drawing on a study of ASM in Rwanda, the article identifies a range of state-led policies implemented in the sector to protect miners. These include workplace-based measures such as occupational health and safety regulations, as well as broader citizen protection programmes that are not sector-specific, including the Ejoheza pension scheme and the Mutuelle de Santé community health insurance scheme. The article draws on the concept of infrastructures of inclusion, developed in science and technology studies and anthropology, to examine the implementation challenges of these initiatives and the politics surrounding their establishment and maintenance. From this perspective, public social protection in Rwanda’s ASM is understood as part of a broader state project that seeks to render mining sites legible in order to increase mineral production while improving workers’ protection. Conceptualising the actors, institutions and relations involved as infrastructures of capitalist production places the politics of mineral production at the centre of analyses of ASM governance challenges.</p>}},
author = {{Rushemuka, Maxime Ndanyuzwe}},
issn = {{2214-790X}},
keywords = {{Artisanal and small-scale mining sector; Infrastructures of inclusion; Rwanda; Social protection}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Extractive Industries and Society}},
title = {{“I am also under pressure” : Challenges in public social protection for workers in Rwanda’s formalised small-scale mining sector}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2026.101969}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.exis.2026.101969}},
volume = {{28}},
year = {{2026}},
}