FIIAPP supports the African Union in the analysis of sustainable mineral resource management policies

The FIIAPP, in the framework of the European EU-TAF project in support of the AfCFTA, has contributed to the generation of specialised knowledge in the field of sustainable mineral management on the African continent, through support to the specialised agency of the African Union (AU), the African Mineral Development Centre (AMDC). The general objective of this technical assistance has been to develop evaluation studies of governance models for sustainable management of mineral resources in five African countries: Ghana, Zambia, Morocco, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In addition, these studies have examined the alignment of these models to the African Mining Vision (AMV) of the five countries, which represent different African regions and which were selected by the partner institution for their mineral wealth. The AMV is a pan-African initiative launched in 2009 by the AU Heads of State, which advocates for transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin sustainable growth and broad-based socio-economic development.

The launch of the AMV was motivated by the realisation that African countries suffer intolerable poverty rates despite possessing approximately one third of the planet’s mineral reserves. The exploitation and management of this raw material is one of the main pillars of the continent’s economies, however, numerous structural obstacles have hindered the capacity of African nations to transform this mineral wealth into public policies to combat the chronic poverty and inequality of which the region is a victim.

Assessment of sustainable mineral management

To assess the state of implementation of the AMV, the AMDC created the African Mineral Governance Framework (AMGF), a technical tool to identify the gaps in the application of this regulation and, therefore, where the technical support of this specialised agency should be focused. The assessment studies, which have been developed by national experts in the field, provide a baseline on the situation in the countries.

The results of the studies were presented and reviewed in validation seminars organised by the FIIAPP team in each of the countries at the end of 2023. Participants included national experts and professionals from the mining sector and mining management, both from the relevant public administrations, the private sector and civil society. During the seminars, the authors of the studies collected the technical contributions and the main points of discussion of the actors present, seeking to generate consensus around the implementation of the AMV.

For the first time since the launch of the MVA as a policy horizon of the AU, extensive assessments of the policy performance of these countries in sustainable mineral resource management have been conducted and validated by national experts. This activity falls under the first objective of the CDMA, which calls for national and sub-regional mineral resource management policies aligned with the VPA. The results could enable the mining sector to play a key role in the social and economic transformation of countries, strengthening their productive capacities in a sustainable sense, and enabling their trade capacity through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Moreover, the relationship between the FIIAPP and the AMDC will continue during 2024 in the framework of the EU-TAF project supporting the AfCFTA by providing continuity to the work carried out, through the holding of seminars on the results, aimed at actors in the mining sector as well as institutions and the general public.