Monrovia - Liberia — ECOWAS Ministers responsible for mineral resources development have recommended the establishment of a Permanent Forum to deal with matters affecting the mineral sector in Member States.
This was part of the conclusions of the one-day ministerial meeting which ended late on Friday, 8th October 2010 in Monrovia, Liberia. Also known as the ECOWAS Minerals and Oil Forum (ECOMOF), the Forum is expected to promote and develop the mining and oil potentials of Member States and help ensure the socio-economic integration of the West African region. ECOMOF will also ensure the harmonization of legal, regulatory and taxation instruments, promote and develop small-scale and craft mining, establish, develop and organize geological, mining and oil databases for Member States as well as develop human resources and create a network of experts.
In addition it will help develop Community infrastructure, add value to mining and oil products, strengthen trade in these products and ensure corporate social responsibility and increase stakeholders' awareness of development issues of their local communities. The ministers also agreed to set up a Task Group to finalize the draft ECOWAS Mineral Development Policy.
The policy is to provide a common policy framework that will promote the emergence of a competitive and integrated national and regional mining sector which will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of ECOWAS Member States. Also, it will help create a mining environment conducive to the sustainable macro-economic development of the region and ensure a balance between the necessity to establish incentives to attract investors and the need to protect the income base and resources of Member States in an environment conducive for attracting investments.
The main focus areas of the policy includes improvement of geological and mineral knowledge, improvement and management of mining revenues of Member States and localization of mining operations to promote national private entrepreneurship and professional opportunities for local workers.
In addition, the policy will focus on building institutional, human, technical and financial capacities of Member States, improve the institutional, legal and regulatory framework as well as issues relating to environmental management and sustainable development. Other focus areas of the policy include building of facilities and improved access of mining sites, artisanal and small scale mining operations and strengthening of inter-state regional cooperation in the mining sector.
The ministers were also unanimous on the creation of a uniform regional mining cadastre management system which will be interfaced with the national systems. The regional cadastre system will, among others, ensure transparency through its standardized and fast-tracked issuance of permits or rights on land acquired for mineral exploration or exploitation.
They also called on Member States to support mineral resources development in the region by domesticating regional initiatives in the mining sector as part of their mineral resources development policy.
