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Swaziland: Commonwealth Assists Govt in Establishing New Mining Policy And Laws
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Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008
A new National Mining Policy together with a comprehensive law which governs mining and minerals activity in Swaziland has been enacted.
It is intended to establish modern, effective and progressive regulatory arrangements that will serve as the foundation for the reform of the minerals sector in the country.
The new Mines and Minerals Act was enacted in June by the Parliament of Swaziland following an extensive period of community and stakeholder consultation. The Commonwealth Secretariat played a lead role in assisting and developing this new law with the Government of Swaziland.
"The enactment of the new Mining Law is a major achievement and is the result of a concerted and sustained effort on the part of the Government of Swaziland to reform the regulation of mining activity and re-energise the minerals sector," said Joshua Brien, Legal Adviser with the Secretariat's Economic and Legal Section.
Special Advisory Services
In recent years, Commonwealth assistance has been delivered to a range of member countries with both established and emerging mining sectors, with a view to assisting them in their efforts to modernise and reform the management of national mining activity.
Mr Brien, who has been managing the project for the past three years, noted that the Secretariat provided assistance in the form of legal and economic advice on a broad range of matters associated with the comprehensive reform of the mining sector.
The Secretariat's assistance placed particular emphasis on the implementation of international best practices in Swaziland's mining sector tailored to the needs and circumstances of the country, so as to ensure that Swaziland's mineral endowment would be managed on a sustainable economic, social and environmental basis and that there is an equitable sharing of the financial and developmental benefits of mining between investors and all Swazi stakeholders.
Accordingly, the focus of much of this assistance has been on establishing measures and initiatives for better environmental management, more stringent social safeguards and improved fiscal management.
"The result of these developments is the establishment of a modern, effective and forward-looking regulatory framework to govern mining in Swaziland, which it is hoped will resonate amongst international mining investors looking for new opportunities for sustainable mineral exploration and development," Mr Brien added.
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The provision of advice and assistance to Commonwealth member countries on the management and reform of natural resource sectors represents a core area of specialisation for the Special Advisory Services Division.
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