Experts make recommendations for the sustainable development of mining communities

Experts in the extractive sector have made recommendations for the sustainable development of local communities that play host to mining activities in Ghana.

Government of Ghana must:

        I.            Implement fully the 2014 Minerals and Mining Policy of Ghana, and the 2016 Minerals Development Fund Act(MDF). 

    II.            Develop a long-term plan integrating mining into a wider vision of a diversified high-income, high-wage economy.  

 III.            Make Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) a mandatory, legally binding obligation for all large-scale mining operations.

 IV.            Re-orient CBAs towards building local governance capacity rather than provision of public infrastructure and public services. 

    V.            Implement fully the 2016 Minerals Develop Fund (MDF), especially the 20% allocated to the Community Development Scheme (CDS).

 VI.            Track MDF funding to ensure the proper usage of funds. Institute periodic audits of all MDF channels and beneficiaries including District Assemblies and traditional authorities.

VII.            Strengthen the mining fiscal regime (royalties and taxes).

VIII.            Strengthen environmental regulations; ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is well resourced; adopt a continual monitoring system for environmental indicators at all mine sites.

 IX.            Develop a national policy and strategy to ensure that women participate in and benefit from mining.

    X.            Close skills/training gap in mining. Mining sector should be seen as a vehicle for technology, skill, and management transfer (from multinationals) for the long-term goal of building local capacity. 

 XI.            Address CBA governance deficits – enhance responsibility, accountability and transparency of CBAs, and enhance community representation and participation in CBA decision-making.

XII.            Communities should participate in CBAs with help from knowledgeable officials from the national/local governments through deliberate and ongoing consultation to identify priorities that are in the common interest and part of a long-term development plan.

XIII.            Adopt international best practices by providing guidelines for mandatory CBAs, obtaining Free and Prior Informed Consent of communities for projects, and for community-oriented independent M&E.

XIV.            Create a socioeconomic baseline for M&E in each community to see how mining is affecting the general welfare.

XV.            M&E frameworks for CBAs should include both quantitative and qualitative data, and incorporate participatory methods.

XVI.            Clear and publicly available indicators and targets are a must to assess and demonstrate progress.

XVII.            All CBA projects should undergo due diligence regarding procurement and hiring.

XVIII.            Build local capacity for M&E by neutral 3^rd parties trusted by the community and paid out of general funds, rather than the mining co., to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest. 

XIX.            Give mining communities better access to legal representation to defend their rights.

The experts including Dr. James Busumtwi-Sam (Associate Professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University), Dr. Steve Manteaw (Co-chair, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative-EITI), Dr. Tony Aubynn (Former CEO of the Minerals Commission, President & Chief Policy Analyst, Africa Institute for Extractive Industries) and Mr. Albert Buer (GSBPLs Communities Supt., Golden Star Resources Ltd) made these recommendations at a multi-stakeholder forum organized by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Canadian High Commission at the Alisa Hotel on November 20, 2019 on the topic: ‘Mining Social License and the Community Benefits Agreements Approach: What Prospects for Ghana’. 

High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana, Sabine Nolke

The programme was moderated by Nick Opoku, a communications consultant.

 

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs)

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are becoming increasingly popular within the mining sector around the world. They provide opportunities for ensuring that mining contributes to the sustainable development of local communities that play host to mining activities. CBAs typically contain undertakings regarding the socio-economic contributions that a project will make to the community. Issues addressed through CBAs include employment opportunities for members of the community, educational scholarship, apprenticeship and technical training programmes for members of the community, support programmes for micro enterprises within the community, financial and other forms of contributory support for infrastructural development such as health, roads, power, water and sanitation. 

In some countries such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Nigeria, CBAs are required by law, but in Ghana they are voluntary. In South Sudan, Section 80(1)(c) of the 2012 Mining Act explicitly regards the conclusion of a CBA between a large-scale mining license title holder and a community as a precondition to the commencement of mining operations. It is subject to the approval of the Minister of Mines and once approved, is regarded as a public document accessible to the public. Also, in Nigeria, the conclusion of a CBA in accordance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 is a pre-requisite for the commencement of mining operations by a license holder.

Stats on mining in Ghana

-          Ghana has substantial mineral resources.  Gold, diamonds, manganese, and bauxite are the major minerals mined. Also, unexploited deposits of iron ore, copper, chrome, nickel, limestone, quartz, and mica.

-          Mining in Ghana was valued at US$38.65 billion in 2014. Its contribution to GDP increased from 2% in 1991 to 9.6% in 2015. 

-          Minerals are the leading merchandise export, accounting for 45.5% of the total in 2016, compared with 22.3% for cocoa, and 12.5% for crude oil.

-          Export of gold (96.5% in 2016) is the largest share of mineral exports. 

-          Despite being a major source of export earnings and a significant contributor to GDP, mining (large scale) does not contribute significantly to employment in Ghana: Agric- (44.7%); Services (40.9%); Industry (13.4%); Mining (-1%)

-          An estimated 10,503 people (-1% ) were formally employed in large-scale mining as of 2017 (GCM 2018). Indicative of the capital-intensive nature of large-scale mining. 

-          About 20 large-scale mining companies with investment from Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States dominate the sector with lesser investors from the UK, Norway, and China.

Credit: Additional files from Dr. James Busumtwi-Sam