Maputo — The ministerial segment of the 3rd AU Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development will be held in Maputo, Mozambique from 16-18 December on the theme: Leveraging the Africa Mining Vision for Africa's Renaissance towards broader ownership. The conference is being preceded by a meeting of Senior Officials, from 13-15 December.
The theme has been deliberately chosen to deepen the participation by member States and their institutions in the implementation of the African Mining Vision and it takes place in the context of a sector characterized by complex relationships and competing demands, rights, and claims.
The Conference has become the premier forum on the continent for African Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources to address issues related to the development of the mineral resources in the continent. There will also be a subtheme on "Mineral Resources Governance and community Engagement."
The objectives of the conference include:
- Proposing to African leaders approaches and policy options on the execution of the Action Plan for the African Mining Vision (AMV) with the aim to promote sustainable development in Africa in line with 2015 Development Agenda and 2063 Africa's agenda;
- Reflecting on the adequacy, relevancy and gaps in the Business Plan for the AMDC as an institutional framework which seeks to support the implementation of the AMV;
- Enhancing ownership and participation of Member States and Regional Economic Communities in the implementation of the Action Plan for AMV and enhance the understanding of its implications on Africa's mineral development; and Launching the African Mineral Development Centre as a project;
- Considering modalities to strengthen forward planning and information exchange on the Action Plan for AMV among Member states and stakeholders;
The Experts in their official session will prepare and adopt a concise report on the main recommendations, Declaration and decision of their meeting, and submit it to the Conference for adoption.
In attendance will be African Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for mineral resources development, AUC and RECs' officials. Participants will also be drawn from a broad spectrum of stakeholders including, Development Partners, representatives of UN agencies, African private sector, African Chambers of mines and industry, NGOs and CSOs, AfDB, and the World Bank.
The participants will brainstorm on how African countries could design and implement effective strategies and policies of Mineral Resources through the African Mining Vision, which could include the promotion of value addition and economic transformation, which can reduce dependence on commodity exports, thus promoting sustainable long-term growth. This, according to the organizers will ensure that the benefits of such growth are widely shared in order to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living for all Africans.
Background:
The AU Executive Council, in Decision No. EX.CL/Dec.368 (XI), instituted a statutory Conference for the African Union Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development with the aim of developing common and consistent positions on issues pertaining to the management of Africa's mineral resources.
The Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development (CAMRMRD) has taken deliberate steps to address challenges in the mineral sector, inter alia, the formulation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) and its Action Plan and endorsement to establish an African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) to provide strategic technical support capacity for implementing the Action Plan for AMV.
In October 2008, the first Session of AU Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, considered the AMV as a strategic framework for the management of Africa's mineral resources in order to promote growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa. The AU Heads of State and government, at their assembly in Addis in February 2009, welcomed the AMV and requested the "AU Ministers in charge of Mineral Resources Development to develop a concrete action plan for its realization".
In December 2011, the Second AU Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, approved the 3 Action Plan for the implementation of AMV, and through their Declaration on Building a sustainable future for Africa's extractive industry - from Vision to Action, endorsed it as the "continental tool for guiding the prudent, transparent and efficient development and management of Africa's mineral resources". The Ministers further endorsed the proposal to establish a Mineral Development Centre to provide strategic technical support capacity to AU/NEPAD, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Member States for the implementation of the Action Plan and hence the AMV.
Following this directive, the AU Commission in close collaboration with Member States of the Second Bureau of CAMRMRD, ECA and other development partners have developed a Draft Business Plan for the establishment of African Mineral Development Center (AMDC).
This conference is expected to discuss, among other issues, the following aspects of the AMDC: structure, mandates, ownership, governance, financing, roles of the stakeholders and the final form of the AMDC.
In addition, the Third Session of African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development will identify priority areas for Africa to fast track the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision.
