Addis Ababa, 14 December 2015 (ECA) - The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources of Sierra Leone is in the process of preparing a new Core Minerals Policy (CMP) with support from the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) and other implementing technical partners, and under the tutelage of the African Union Commission.
In 2009, Heads of State and Government of African Union (AU) member states adopted the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) and requested ministers responsible for mineral resources to prepare an action plan for the domestication of the AMV on the continent. The AMV is envisaged as a blueprint for African countries to better manage their natural resources and their strategic positioning the global minerals industry.
AMV uniquely provides the imperative for methodical, systematic and sustained attention to broader socioeconomic linkages with the minerals sector, which transcends and includes fiscal issues including revenue maximization and the inevitable commodity boom and bust cycles. Implementation of the AMV is geared towards enhancing the enabling environment for African countries as well as the private sector, to optimize socioeconomic development benefits accruing from mineral exploitation. The development of Sierra Leone’s CMP directly contributes toward actualizing the Vision.
Following up on previous technical and strategic engagement with the Republic of Sierra Leone on its minerals sector, a technical assistance workshop is scheduled from 16 to 17 December 2015 at the African Union Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop will address analytical, technical, and strategic options as well as instruments to support the Government of Sierra Leone in developing a Core Minerals Policy that aligns with the AMV.
The Government of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources is the main convener of this workshop, with technical and organizational support from AMDC. Workshop participants will consist of Sierra Leone’s Extractive Sector Expert Panel members including senior staff of the Ministry and the National Minerals Agency (NMA), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs); The Government’s institutional partners in the process of developing their CMP, including the AfDB, GIZ and World Bank country offices in Sierra Leone; UNECA, UNDP RSC Africa, and AMDC external resource persons.
Helpful Resources:
African Minerals Development Centre
***
Issued by:
African Minerals Development Centre | Special Initiatives Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Email: dleoncio@uneca.org
Phone: 251 11 544 3094