african alternative mining indaba in cape … · rosa luemburg stiftung the alternative mining...

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

The Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) is an annual meeting

taking place in Cape Town as a parallel event to the

Mining Indaba. It is a platform that gathers civil society

organizations, community and grassroots movements, and

committed faith leaders to be vocal in their opposition to

the plundering of Africa by multinationals. While the Mining

Indaba itself is presented as a forum of investors, mining

companies, governments, and other stakeholders throughout

the world with the objective of improving the business of

mining in Africa, the Alternative Indaba comes as an initiative

to remind the decision makers of their responsibilities

towards their communities. The 2018 AMI edition gathered

at the DoubleTree Hotel in Cape Town between the 5th

and the 7th February 2018, with over 600 participants from

41 countries, mainly from the SADC (Southern African

Development Community). “Making Natural Resources Work

for the People: Towards Just Legal, Policy and Institutional

Reforms” was the subject of this year treated in three days

of reflexion and analyses divided in keynote addresses,

communities’ experiences, breakaway thematic sessions,

plenaries, and panel discussions.

Although the Mining Indaba requested being dedicated

to supporting education, career development, sustainable

development, and other important causes in Africai, realities

seem to be critical to their assessment. What is the true

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Picture: RLS Brazil Office

03 / 2018ROSA LUXEMBURG STIFTUNG

SOUTHERN AFRICA

IBRAHIMA THIAM, RLS

AFRICAN ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA IN CAPE TOWN: A CALL FOR AN ALTERNATIVE THINKING


result of extractive practices? How are communities living

surrounding the mines being affected? To what extent are

their rights being considered? Are communities’ rights

to say yes or no to mining on their land being respected?

Is there any transparency in the management of mining

royalties? How are they impacting our economies? How are

communities’ interests being represented? Why does mining

rarely, if ever, profit communities? All these were questions

that were raised during the meeting.

The diagnostic of experiences in the different African

countries where mining is taking place remains the same,

only it is said in different words by different communities

chosen from the National Alternative Mining Indaba. The

NAMI has been inspired by the AMI and it is organized in

different countries as a given space for community and

civil society voices in the extractive industries. During the

2018 AMI, countries like Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,

Swaziland, Congo, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa

presented the results of the NAMI in their respective

countries.

The growth of many African countries is directly linked to

their mining and extractive activities. Unfortunately, the

wealth generated through such economies are of little

benefit to the people. A country like Nigeria is the world’s

8th largest exporter of oil, yet 70% of its population lives

on less than one euro a dayii. Niger stands as the world’s

fourth largest producer of uranium, 9% of the world market

behind Kazakhstan (36%), Canada (17%) and Australia (11%).

After 40 years of exploration, the Nigerien government was

still indignant at drawing only 5% of the national budget

revenueiii. In 2016, the country ranked to 187th out of 188

countries on the United Nations Human Development Index1.

One of their first challenges is their share rate in these

dividends which rarely go beyond 10%. African States are

often left in a precarious situation with influential mining

companies, whose motivation is that of profit, not social

needs.

Between 2013 and 2015, more than $750 million in mining

revenues have disappeared in the Democratic Republic of

Congoiv and by 2012, Congo Brazzaville had lost out on

$1.4billion through a series of opaque mining deals with

offshore companiesv. It shows how huge amounts of capital

are also going missing within Congo as a result of corruption

and an inefficient tax system. According to a study by the

Africa Centre for Strategies and Studies, the steady flow of

natural resource revenues benefits more the patronage and

governmental security structures, allowing them to stay

in power, while the public sector remains the first victim

and suffers from severe corruption. There is a strong link

between exploitation of natural resources and conflicts in

Africa. Very often, countries heavily rich in oil and minerals

are exposed to any risk of conflictvi. A study revealed that

between 1950 and 2000, 90% of armed conflicts in Africa

occurred in countries rich in biodiversityvii.

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Another point raised during plenaries is land grabbing

caused by mining. Local communities in mining areas

are often victims of land use, dispossession, relocation,

environmental pollution, and degradation of their resources.

The loss of enormous quantities of soil is caused by the

mining industries. Further, there is the Free Prior Inform

concern (FPIC) concept that guarantees to all people the

right of self-determination, free determination of political

status, and free pursuit of economic, social and cultural

development of indigenous peopleviii. But to avoid obtaining

such consent, mining companies prefer rather negotiating

with local elites to obtain guarantees for their mining plans.

These elites in return take advantage from such negotiations

to reinforce their authority, and maintain their access to

economic gainsix. In Ghana for example, the traditional

authorities are customary landholders, who therefore play

a key role on the governance of artisanal and small-scale

mining in forested areas.

For Dr Yao Graham, the Coordinator of the pan-African

research and advocacy organisation Third World Network,

who presented on “Extractive laws in Africa: What is the

state of these laws? Why are our laws a problem? Why

and on what should we call for reforms?”, it is time is

to seek a balance of power in African societies between

the logic of citizen’s ownership and the responsibilities of

the State or governments as trustees. Most constitutions

in African countries pronounce for the sovereignty and

the accountability of power holders who manage the

minerals on behalf of the citizens. The rights of ownership,

exploration, and mining and disposing of minerals located in

African countries like Ghana, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe,

Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania are

vested in the President on behalf of the Republicx.

All these laws need to be improved for a better accountability

in the choice made by the governments, especially if such

decisions don’t end up bringing profit to the people.

Criticising the nature of relationships between our regimes

and the multinationals, Yao Graham considers them

colonial and facilitating the multinationals. He also called

for a collective, citizen-based ownership of our minerals

that should consider the following points: Sustainable

management and accountability of the trustee to beneficiary,

a radical re-conception of state accountability of mineral

resources, the involvement of the population interest

regarding the vision that animates mineral exploitation in

our countries and accommodated law policies for foreign

investors that rather improve economic and social expansion

and welfare.

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Although there have been several revisions and changes

in mining regulations and codes throughout the African

continent to attract greater foreign investment, the majority

remains obsolete and not adapted. October 2016, the

Senegalese National Assembly adopted the new mining

code which brings several innovationsxi: The concept of

revenue sharing has been introduced, which involves more

of the local authorities and the local people who live where

the mining would occur; the obligation for the rehabilitation

of the mine becomes effective during the research phase

instead of during the operating phase; royalties have reached

5% for gold and precious metals; the State will benefit from

participation in all mining operations via providing 10% of

the initial capital, and negotiates the additional acquisition

of 25% of capital to enable the Senegalese private sector

to have access to the mining sector; The confidentiality of

the data have been redeveloped in order to comply with the

transparency obligations of the standard of the Initiative for

transparency in the Extractive Industries (EITI).

The African continent is believed to contain roughly 30%

of the world’s mineral reserves but this still doesn’t turn

a profit to the continent. But a very first step should be to

treat the people as part-owner of the resources. This would

mean to involve affected communities before making the

decision to mine, and to ensure such communities are given

a comprehensive analysis of the likely impacts should mining

occur.

The 9th Edition of AMI ended with a declaration

summarising the main issues and concerns discussed during

the sessions, and a traditional march through the city to

the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where the

Mining Indaba was held. Hundreds of participants under the

leadership of faith leaders reached the Convention Centre to

present the memorandum to representatives of the African

Union Commission‚ the Department of Minerals Resources‚

the Chamber of Mines, and the African Mining Indaba. This

is an example that we would encourage leaders in African

countries to follow. Africa has a great sensitiveness to

religion, and religious leaders should stand as part of the civil

society to defend the moral, social, political, and economic

interests of the people. Africa is living the paradox of holding

30 % of the world reserves on minerals, whereas 22 of 24

nations identified as having “Low Human Development” on

the United Nations’ (UN) Human Development Index are

in Africa. The AMI called upon the African States for more

responsibility and accountability to what will be the legacy

for the next generations. A mining Indaba should be spread

to the rest of Africa above all the West African part which is

facing lot of challenges.

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1 https://www.miningindaba.com/ehome/283869/About/i http://www.dw.com/fr/pour-quelques-litres-de-p%C3%A9trole-

nig%C3%A9rian/a-16459077ii http://geopolis.francetvinfo.fr/areva-au-niger-et-luranium-darlit-12195iii https://africacenter.org/security-article/regime-cash-machine-democratic-republic-

congos-booming-mining-exports-failing-benefit-people/iv https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/democratic-republic-congo/regime-

cash-machine/v https://www.impact.sn/Exploitation-des-ressources-naturelles-en-Afrique-Le-

Pentagone-accuse-le-Forum-de-Tana-met-en-perspective_a2446.htmlvi http://www.jeuneafrique.com/235273/societe/lafrique-malade-de-ses-ressources-

naturelles/vii Article 1. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the

International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights: “All peoples have the right of selfdetermination. By virtue

of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their

economic, social and cultural development.”ix Sara Geenen & Jana Hönke: Land grabbing by mining companies: Local contentions

and state reconfiguration in South Kivu (DRC)x https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tr/Documents/energy-resources/za-

state-of-mining-africa-09022015.pdfxi http://bmcaudit.sn/blog/les-principales-innovations-apportees-a-lancien-code-minier-

du-senegal/

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