The groups also encouraged the federal government to formalise artisanal and small scale miners so that they can have access to loan facilities and start operating within accepted standards.
Non-governmental organisations at the forefront of campaigns for the rights of host communities have urged the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals to further review the extraction net revenue to host communities in the proposed re-enacted Minerals and Mining Bill to 10 per cent in view of the extractive burdens they shoulder.
The groups which comprise the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) and the Neighborhood Environmental Watch (NEW) Foundation made the recommendation in a memorandum on the Minerals and Mining Bill 2023 which proposes five per cent of extraction net value going to the communities.
In a memorandum by the groups such an increase is just and befitting and will address pressing needs of such communities many of whom are only spectators as the wealth in their land is expropriated.
At the Public Hearing on the Minerals and Mining (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2023 and the Nigeria Mineral Development Company Limited (Establishment) Bill, 2023 which held in Abuja on Wednesday (17 July), the groups also encouraged the federal government to formalise artisanal and small scale miners so that they can have access to loan facilities and start operating within accepted standards.
The memorandum by the groups proposed that all small scale and artisanal miners should be documented in a Miners Register opened and domiciled in the Ministry of Mining/Solid Minerals in the State, local government area headquarters and mining communities.
They frowned at the excessive powers given in the proposed Bill to the Minister of Solid Minerals in Section 4, which it said should be subject to further review as most of the functions proposed are duplications of what the Ministry of Environment should be carrying out.
For instance, the group questioned Section 4 (u) of the Bill which proposes that the Minister of Solid Minerals shall have the power to designate a mineral as a radio-active mineral and by radioactive regulations make special provisions for the exploration, exploitation, possession, export or otherwise dealing in the radio-active mineral.
Instead, it proposed that the powers of the minister of solid minerals should be shared with other ministries relevant to the subject including environment.
They picked holes in specific items listed which the Bill proposed be included in the Community Development Agreement such as educational scholarships and employment opportunities, countering that the agreement should be flexible enough to allow the host community determine exactly what they want or what they want to use funds they get for as their needs may change depending on situations.
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In his explanation of the motivation of the committee for repealing the former Act, Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi, said that the Public Hearing is sequel to the Public Policy Dialogue on the Mineral and Mining Act 2007 which was held on Monday 12th - Wednesday 13th February, 2024 where participants overwhelmingly demanded a review of the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 to reflect current realities.
He promised that members of the committee will take the recommendations from participants at the hearing into consideration in a final document.
Elvira Jordan
Media Affairs Lead
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