N'djamena — The Government of Chad, in collaboration with the Coalition for Dialogue in Africa, ECA Capacity Development Division, and the African Minerals Development Center, organized a validation workshop of the revised Mining Policy and Mining Code. The objective of the workshop was to ensure that the reviewing process of key governance tools of the Chadian mining sector, launched few weeks ago under the leadership of Mr. Kojo Busia Acting Coordinator of AMDC, are aligned with the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) principles and the development objectives of Chad.
The workshop, which was held from 1 to 8 August 2017 in Chad's capital city of N'Djamena, had more than fifty multi-sector participants ranging from lawyers to experts on mining and petroleum taxation and on environmental law; specialists of international finance, economics and public-private partnerships; geologists; strategy and local content specialists as well as the members of the inter-ministerial Committee working on the process of reviewing the Chadian mining governance. Some parliamentarians, lecturers, journalists and representatives of civil society organizations attended also the workshop.
Participants reviewed various aspects of the draft Mining Policy and Code to ensure that changes made will foster the development of the AMV goal of a "transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development." They also confirmed the commitment for Chad to serve as a sub-regional and regional reference in the implementation of the AMV principles.
As part of the AMV domestication process in Chad, the new mining law aims for sustainable growth--developing the country with a solid mining sector and making it ecologically and socially responsible. This goal is in line with the political will expressed by the Government of Chad for a "deep" reform of its mining sector. Mr. Bechir Madet from the Ministry of Petroleum said, "Chad wants to make the organization and modernization of the mining sector one of the keys of the diversification of its economy." For Professor Martin Ndende of ECA, the strengthening of the capacity of countries to manage geological and mining information is necessary to achieve this goal.
Ms. Souad Aden-Osman, Acting Coordinator of the AUC-UNECA-AfDB Joint Secretariat Support Office, reaffirmed that the reform process in Chad "Should take into consideration the challenges of the development of the mining industry, in both national and local level, and the need for Chad to play a key role on the strengthening of regional cooperation, of which mining can be an important engine."
The workshop ended by the closing speech of the Minister of Mines, Geology and Quarries, Mr. Youssouf Abassala, who underlined the necessity for Chad to set up mechanisms which will ensure the effective implementation of the reforms provided by the new mining code. Participants agreed on the organization of a workshop, at the end of August, to define a road map and agenda for the implementation of the recommendations of the validation workshop and to explore the possibilities for harmonizing the mining legislations in the Central Africa's sub-region (CEMAC, Economic Community of Central African States) and beyond.
