By Mabinty M. Kamara
Civil Society Organizations working in the natural resources governance sector and economic justice have presented their input into ongoing review of the 2009 Mines and Minerals Act.
The organisations, through an umbrella body called NaRGEJ (Natural Resources Governance and Economic Justice), presented their input as a set of recommendations to the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources on Tuesday, September 10.
The review of the mines law was necessitated by a demand for change in the mines and minerals sector, as indicative of recurrent problems between mining companies and their local host communities on the one hand, and between the government and the companies on the other hand.
The review is also a fulfilment of a promise of the government of President Julius Maada Bio who believes Sierra Leone has not benefitted from its natural resources as it should.
NaRGEJ is a coalition of civil society organisations working for economic justice, particularly in the mining sector. Lavina Banduah of Transparency International Sierra Leone, one of the co-leads of the coalition, said at the presentation ceremony that the document is a collective work of members of the coalition meant to reflect the views of the ordinary people who are mostly affected by mining activities into the new Act.
The submission, NaRGEJ, was done on the basis of research conducted within Sierra Leone with focus on mining affected communities and a thorough review of the current Act. They said it also included recommendations from international best practices like the African Mining Vision and the International Alliance on Natural Resources in Africa (IANRA), which the group is a part of.
Abu Brima, Executive Director of the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), the second co-lead of NaRGEJ, appealed to the minister and his team to take into consideration their input and ensure that the views of Sierra Leoneans be reflected on the final document, and he urged them not to allow the views of the international community to outweigh the interest of the country.
“We have tailored our inputs in such a way that it makes the document more African. So you really have to look at the role of the international partners and ensure that their views do not supersedes that of the people of Sierra Leone who in the end will have to bear the consequences of whatever the outcome of the final document is,” Brima said.
Among the recommendations of the coalition is the need for inclusion of the principles of fundamental human rights, governance mechanism, impact assessment, community consent and community beneficiation.
Foday Rado Yokie, Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, said his leadership was committed to listening to the views of CSO’s as they reflected the views of the people. He added that he had always acted on the views and actions of the CSO’s and that their inputs in the ongoing review process would be taken seriously.
“I assure you that I will hand over the document to the technical committee and that if not all, but some of the inputs will be added to the reviewed document,” he said, adding that some of the things mentioned are already factored in the document.
Brima Sowa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, noted that the move by NaRGEJ was timey as the document was still in its draft stage. He also assured the coalition that the role of the international partners will be limited to support and not to influence the content of the document.
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