Uranium mining is a hazardous activity that poses long-term risks to people's health, life and livelihood, even when strictly regulated and managed.

The Kayelekera project has failed to put in place appropriate measures to safeguard local populations, who are reliant on the environment, including water resources that could be affected by Paladin's operations for livelihood and subsistence. The radiation hazards posed by the operation to workers and the general public have not been appropriately quantified, and appropriate measures to limit these risks have not been adopted.

The development agreement signed with the Malawian government has been subject to concern by Malawian groups for its potential to negatively impact access to water and electricity for local people, for trading tax excemptions for arangements that don't guarantee national benefits sharing, and for potential limits on the ability to deveop new legislation to address gaps in the current regulatory frameworks.

Other areas of irresponsible conduct are:

Improper Community Consultation and Payments to local leaders
Paladin is undermining local decision making by effectively putting local village chiefs on the company payroll, and promising communities new school blocks, roads, internet, an airport and clean water without informing them of the negative impacts of the operation. One chief in a video interview stated that he was happy because he was receiving money but that he knew nothing of the negative effects the mine would bring. Paladin refused to confirm the nature of payments being made, in written responses to MPI's requests stating that all payments are for services rendered.
Paladin refused to provide “scoping documents” or information to local civil society until the EIS was released/ Under Malawian environmental law the availability of scoping documents are supposed to ensure that the community can identify issues and key concerns can be integrated at an early stage in the Environmental Impact Assessment Process.

Destruction of Cultural Heritage
Infrastructure development for the mine destroyed shrines of local people without consultation or notification. This was a source of distress and anger to locals people, and Paladin is yet to clarify the nature or extent of restitution or compensation over this issue.

Failure to commit to respecting domestic laws of acceptable practices
Paladin has refused to commit not to seek excemptions to the exisiting regulatory requirements in Malawi when queried by Australian and Malawian non government organisations.
Paladin’s use of water and electricity are also contentious. A leaked copy of the draft state agreement act raised concerns that the company would be allowed it rights to water and electricity that could potentially override Malawian people’s existing rights, and indemnifies the company from compensation for any losses.
Most people do not have access to clean water, and the government does not have programs to make water from the lake available to rural areas. Most Malawians experience acute shortages of electricity, generated by hydroelectric schemes, as droughts are already forcing power rationing to many residential areas. Local organisations have concerns that this will worsen when Paladin starts using these much needed resources.

Use of Intimidation and Threatening Tactics against Local Civil Society
Local civil society have been subject to intimidatory behaviour by company executives, including threats that they would be ‘reported to the government’ when seeking clarifications as to the company’s conduct and activities. In late December 2006, NGO leaders allege being ordered to the police station and threatened with arrest when hosting the visit of an Australian photojournalist who had been interviewing local community members about the mine. Allegedly the police chief had told them that Paladin had contacted the police and claimed they were on the mine site. According to the head of Citizens for Justice they were told that any future meetings about uranium needed to be reported to the police.

Major Flaws, Gaps and Inadeqacies in Environmental Impact Assessment and Project Design

An independent review of the environmental impact statement undertaken by Australian scientists identified major flaws, omission and inadequacies in both assesssment and project design.
Dr Gavin Mudd, one of the independent reviewers, who travelled to Malawi to assist with technical capacity building of local community and civil society concluded that the mine would not have been given approval in Australia due to the major flaws in the assessment and design.
The most critical aspects identified from a technical / scientific perspective include: Baseline Environmental Studies: the Kayelekera EIA fails to include studies of both sufficient scientific quality and length of environmental monitoring to make a credible case for assessing the extent of potential impacts from the proposed Kayelekera uranium project. This includes study of existing water quality, environmental and radiological conditions.

Tailings: at present, Paladin propose to leave the tailings (the radioactive material left after processing and uranium extraction) above ground. In Australia it is scientifically accepted that the best long-term outcome for uranium tailings is to deposit them back into a former open cut (or even underground) mine, thereby ensuring better long-term environmental and radiological security.

Water Management: at present, Paladin propose to allow the direct release of contaminated mine site waters under heavy rainfall conditions. The local community continue to use the adjacent streams and rivers for water and food gathering, giving rise to significant risks of contamination through direct release as well as build-up of pollutants in the environment.

Rehabilitation: at present, insufficient commitments are made regarding rehabilitation following closure of the proposed project. Paladin do not commit to ongoing monitoring, a conceptual land form design, back-filling of the pit with tailings and waste rock, nor some arrangement for a financial bond to be placed with government to secure rehabilitation works should the project or Paladin become financially incapable.

Paladin’s executive Director John Borshoff said “The Australians and the Canadians have become over-sophisticated in their environmental and social concerns, the future is in Africa” reported by Melbourne herald sun, 3^rd April, 2006. This raises questions as to whether Paladin will exercise due-diligence during its operations in Africa.
The destruction of cultural sites, relocation of people and failure to re-locate people’s graveyard is a serious violation of social and cultural rights of Malawian people.

Paladin’s gender policy is yet to come out clear. In 2007, it fired a single woman who pregnant and was not allowed to return to work after labour. There is need for Paladin to exercise universal treatment on gender and other issues.

The Government of Malawi is currently in the process of putting in place a uranium mining legislation as the country has none. Its unfortunate that Paladin is laying its hands on this process and the company is advocating for a self-regulating uranium mining legislation which allows the company to dispose of hazardous effluents into the river systems and the environment, it allows the company to apply for abandonment of the mine and the legislation has no stiffer penalties for any breach of environmental laws in Malawi. Paladin has argued that the Malawi government has no expertise in this field, hence the need for support from Paladin.