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Expedite harmonisation of
African mining policies – Sonjica
Accra, Aug 14, Ghanadot/GNA - Mrs
Buyelwa Sonjica, South African Minister of State in charge
of Minerals and Energy, has called for expedite action on
the harmonisation of Africa’s mining policies, which she
said would put Africa at a comparative advantage.
“We must speed up the process of harmonizing African mining
policy framework as it would allow Africa to arrive at its
comparative advantage, which would eventually lead to
competitive advantage with or beneficiation intervention,”
she said.
Mrs Sonjica, who said this at the 4th Mid-Term Review of the
African Mining Partnership (AMP) Ministerial Meeting on
Thursday in Accra, also called for co-ordinated effort
between African energy experts to promote energy commodities
on the African continent.
She noted that such collaborative effort would provide the
input materials required for value added products intended
for consumption in Africa and elsewhere.
“It is evident that the value addition of our respective
commodities presents opportunities for demand and markets,
particularly for artisinal and small scale mining on the
continent,” Mrs Sonjica said.
The review meeting was attended by Ministers from Ghana,
South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt as well as
representatives from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali,
Communities and Small Scale Mining Africa (CASM), an inter
governmental organization and ECOWAS.
It was aimed at developing strategies leading to the
creation of an enabling environment for mining and its
related industries.
The New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD)
Secretariat organised the meeting under the theme:
“Optimizing Africa’s Mineral potential for Peace and
Prosperity”.
Mrs Sonjica said it was essential to consider beneficiation
of energy commodities in order to generate adequate supply
of energy that would underpin the envisaged growth in
Africa’s mining sector.
“Other projects of AMP that seem non-core such as the
Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals
(REACH) should not be left unattended as already prescribed
by the European Commission’s legislation,” she said.
Mrs Sonjica said a combination of strategies such as
lobbying and identification of projects must be sought to
ensure that Africa gains.
She said as Africa progressed with the implementation of the
resolutions of the 2008 AMP plenary, it was important to
develop a comprehensive value proposition for establishment
of a permanent secretariat.
She said if mining initiatives introduced to Africa by
others such as the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme,
the Extract Industries Transparency Initiative and others
have made significant progress, the scope of AMP affords the
continent a unique opportunity to achieve more.
Mrs Sonjica said AMP Executive Committee must create an
enabling environment for meaningful participation of
vulnerable groups, since the paucity of skills required in
advancing the minerals and mining sector cuts across all
needed skill sets.
Mrs Esther Obeng Dapaah, Minister for Lands, Forestry and
Mines urged member countries to accelerate the process of
extending their Exclusive Economic Zone in order to benefit
from the natural resources including oil and gas.
“Since the formal launch of AMP in 2004, we have never had
any opportune time than now to get affiliated to the African
Union (AU).
“We need combination strategies for African countries to
synergize their energies for the creation of energy pools
for the development of the mineral industry,” she said.
The next plenary session on AMP would take place in Cape
Town, South Africa next year.
GNA
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