“International Study Group to Review Africa's Mining Regimes”

Addis Ababa, 04 October 2007 (ECA) -The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is this week (4-6 October) hosting the first meeting of a new international study group, which has been tasked with conducting a review of Africa's mining regimes.

The group, which includes leading academics and practitioners of natural resources law, economics, and management, was established following the February 2007 Big Table on “ Managing Africa's Natural Resources for Growth and Poverty Reduction”.

At the Big Table meeting, there was a consensus on the urgent need for a comprehensive evaluation of past experiences in natural resources development in Africa. Furthermore, the Big Table recommended that new proposals be put forward on how mineral rich African countries might best ensure that their natural resources contribute to the economic and social development of their societies in a sustainable and equitable manner.

The new international study group therefore aims to respond to these demands. Its overall objectives are to review the extent to which Africa's current mining regimes promote the sustainable development of the mining sector as well as the broad national and regional economy , and to propose innovations in the form of new templates, toolkits and guidelines for the formulation of the next generation of Africa's mining codes.

In his opening statement to the gathering on 4 October, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA, Abdoulie Janneh, highlighted the key contibution that the study group can make to the creation of “mining regimes that are competitive and can ensure a fair share of returns to everybody”. He also urged the group to take into account the fact that national needs in this sector differ “due to the fact that countries are in different stages of the mineral cycle”.

The preliminary results of the review of Africa's mining regimes will be subjected to validation exercises at national and sub-regional levels involving different stakeholders, including members of parliament, civil society, the private sector, industry associations, labour, international organizations, and academia.

This activity will be implemented by ECA in collaboration with the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee, the Groupe de recherché sur les activites minieres en Afrique (GRAMA) of the Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM), the Witswatersrand University, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Raw Materials Group, and other partners who will be sought to provide resource persons and materials to develop case studies, guidelines, and the toolkits.

:: TOR