Alake, African Mining Ministers mull stiffer measures for value addition, shared prosperity

*Dr. Oladele Alake, Minister for Solid Minerals Development, and Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group, urges member-countries to ensure control of their mineral resources, leverage the global shift to green energy to maximise the benefits of available mineral resources

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Stiffer measures to cut raw mineral exports and boost value addition topped talks among African Ministers of Mining at the Ministerial Roundtable held Tuesday, July 16, 2024, to flag off the annual Africa Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS), in Abuja, FCT.

Among the measures the stakeholders took include an upward review of licence fees, royalties and charges, support for indigenous miners, and value addition as a condition for licences.

Speaking at the forum, Dr. Oladele Alake, Honourable  Minister for Solid Minerals Development, who chairs the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), urged member-countries to ensure control of their mineral resources, leveraging the global shift to green energy to maximise the benefits of its mineral resources.

The Minister also emphasised the summit’s role in fostering dialogue, sharing knowledge, and strengthening the African Minerals Strategy Group’s (AMSG) focus on value addition for rapid economic development.

Dr. Alake steessed the importance of Africa’s judiciously exploiting its natural resources and effectively utilising the generated revenue for the benefit of its citizens.

Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, stated Alake said: “The Africa Natural Resources & Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) is another opportunity to further consolidate our ideas and put them in motion towards attaining our stated objectives.

“I hope that at the end of our deliberations, Africa will know and recognise our seriousness.

“We are confident that through the support of  Ministers here present, we can get the endorsement of our heads of state for necessary policy actions.”

In this remarks, Moses Engadu, Secretary-General of AMSG, from Uganda, underscored that the theme of the Roundtable, “Sustainable Development for Africa’s Natural Resources”, provides a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and offering policy guidance for transformative actions toward sustainable development.

Leading a cross-section of Ministers in presentations, Malawian Minister of Mining, Monica Chang’anamuno, advocated concrete plans for infrastructure development, critical for mineral resource development, and advocated for collaboration based on comparative advantages among African countries.

Chadian Deputy Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Geology, Oumar Moussa, proposed the creation of an African fund for exploration, development of continental expertise in the mining value chain, and centers of excellence for innovation and clean technologies.

Other speakers at the forum also emphasised the need for commitment to agreements and enhanced collaboration to harness the African continent’s natural resources for shared prosperity for their peoples.

Dr. Alake, while urging his colleagues to take a cue from Nigeria, as well made a case for local content, mandating substantial indigenous representation in mining operations.

“In Nigeria, we have a policy that we refrain from granting licenses to foreigners wholly; there must be a Nigerian partner.

“This is a policy other African countries should adopt. Since the inception of AMSG, we’ve introduced initiatives like intra-Africa trade, and I believe that we can not do this effectively without the active collaboration of our private sector, across board,” he asserted.

Giving a glimpse into the action plan of the AMSG, Secretary-General Engadu equally announced the upcoming launch of the “Africa for Africans” initiative.

The AMSG noted the initiative is aimed at innovative programmes for mineral resource development and the establishment of the Africa Minerals Development Fund (AMDF).

Engadu stated: “This fund, inspired by Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), will be championed by Nigeria and structured to assist local miners across the continent access required funding.”

Countries represented at the Ministerial Roundtable include Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Liberia, and Chad. Nigeria’s Minister of Steel Development, Shuaib Abubakar Audu; Minister of State, Uba Maigari; and Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, along with other continental private sector players, were also in attendance at the Roundtable in Abuja.