Policy implementation body the African Mineral Development Centre (AMDC) – established to support, promote and assist in the implementation of the objectives of the African Mining Vision (AMV) – has presented at workshops across Africa on initiatives that are expected to drive continental growth and development.

The AMV was adopted by heads of State at the February 2009 African Union (AU) summit. It is the AU’s response to tackling the paradox of great mineral wealth existing side by side with pervasive poverty.

The AMV is a holistic vision that advocates the improvement of mining regimes by ensuring that tax revenues from mining are optimised and that the income is well spent, as well as integrating mining into development policies at local, national and regional levels.

The AMDC is scheduled to assist the Sierra Leone government in its roll-out of a sensitisation workshop to be held in Freetown on July 19 and 20. The workshop is aimed at supporting the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources with the process of preparing a new Core Minerals Policy (CMP) that is in line with the AMV. It will provide communications professionals operating in-country with an increased understanding of the AMV and the CMP, as well as tactical guidance to communicate on these processes.

About 75 participants from various stakeholder groups will attend the meeting, including representatives from government, the private sector, civil society and the media.

Last month, the AMDC presented at a workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, advocating for the development of the Integrated Resources Corridor Initiative (IRCI). The IRCI hopes to improve the prospects for economic corridors to drive economic growth while ensuring that no harm is done to the environment and people’s livelihoods.

The IRCI workshop was meant to promote the need for multistakeholder, multiagency and interdisciplinary collaboration on resource corridor planning and development. It was also aimed at assisting decision-makers who were considering, planning and/or implementing economic corridors.

The IRCI workshop was structured into three phases – scoping, development of a programme and the roll-out phase. The workshop included information on capacity development to address the challenge of ensuring development corridors are sustainable economically, socially and environmentally.

The workshop attracted over 50 leaders from different disciplines and sectors working in the field of extractives and development to discuss experiences with similar corridors across Africa, including in Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania.

The benefits and role of corridor planning and development were explored through the AMV. Presentations were made by representatives of the AMDC, including independent mineral policy analyst Dr Paul Jourdan, who contributed to drafting the AMV policy document.

The AMDC also participated in the inaugural session of the AU’s Specialised Technical Committee on Trade and Industry and Minerals (STC-TIM), which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 16 to 24.

The STC-TIM was responsible for preparing projects and programmes in the areas of trade, industry and mining and submitting them to the AU’s executive council, with the role of the AMV included in this agenda.

On May 18, the AMDC presented its work plan and a report on its progress on key initiatives, such as the Geological and Mineral Information System strategy, the African Mineral Governance Framework and the African Mining Legislation Atlas.

The AMDC further elaborated on the progress of the AMV across the continent; the AMV imprint is discernible through programmatic activities covering 24 African countries, including Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi and Sierra Leone – about half of all AU member States.

The objectives of the STC-TIM event were to provide strategic advice to the policy organs of the AU, ensure implementation of agreed programmes and projects, as well as establish synergies and linkages in the areas of trade, industry and mining in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063 and its Ten-Year Implementation Plan.

The AMV has a key role to play in realising Africa’s potential through industrialistation, linkages and creating a knowledge economy, says the AMDC.