Mining

CSOs call for transparency in minerals sector Governance

February 4, 2022
admin
49 Comments

By Wahard Betha

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in the mining sector under the umbrella of the Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJC) and Publish What You Pay (Malawi) have called on the Malawi Government to uphold transparency in the governance of the mineral sector.


In a statement signed by NRJN Board Chairperson Kossam Munthali and Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Steering Committee Chairperson Moses Mkandawire the CSOs bemoan what they call a veil of secrecy in the Extractive Sector.


Reads the statement: “Even though the constitution under Section 12 on the fundamental principles of the constitution demands that every public and political official operates in the interests of the people of Malawi, in an open, transparent and accountable manner this is not the case in the sector up to now. Even with the assenting of the Access to Information Act, Communities have still been denied Extractive information that is so critical to their exercise of freedom to access information.”


“Now no one knows whether Extractive Activities like mining are still using agreements that were drafted way back or the Mines and Minerals Act of 2019.”


Munthali and Mkandawire express concern that for 10 years now, the Kayelekera Uranium Mine Development Agreement that was signed between the Malawi Government and the miner Paladin Africa has not been investigated “though it gave citizens of Malawi a raw deal.”

They also allege that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and other authorities have failed to update Malawians on the status of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements investigations.

The statement says since Malawi is a member of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), it is a standard that Government publishes a register of beneficial ownership of companies in the extractive sector in Malawi.

NRJN says even though it is provided by the Companies Act that every registered legal person or company discloses to the Registrar of Companies the individual persons behind the operations of the companies, they feel absence of the public register of Beneficial Ownership Disclosure is fueling the establishment of shell companies in the sector and conflict of interests as Public Officials can easily establish a company without any disclosure, which is a root cause of corruption.

The CSOs also urge Government to be transparent to the general public whenever it issues a license to justify its position over a particular license whether it being small, medium or large scale, saying the citizens have the right to know what their Government has agreed on their behalf and conditions that have been agreed.

The statement reads: “The lack of transparency of the Extractive Sector is what has been creating tensions between citizens and their Government as there is usually heightened distrust amongst citizens, a case in point are the tax practices that have been utilized in the sector.”

“In the year that just ended we have been amazed to hear that all the companies that came into Malawi with all their investments to explore petroleum have relinquished their licenses.”

“It is a surprise to us to learn that they have relinquished their licenses out of Covid-19 whilst in the same region of SADC in countries like Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and even Angola companies have been conducting exploration even during Covid-19 pandemic, we were expecting a clear communication from the Ministry responsible but there is silence on this.”

The statement calls for the revision of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act of 1981 to compete with other countries in the region.

The CSOs also call on government to expedite plans to decentralize operations of the Department of Mines; conduct public consultations on the establishment of Malawi Mining Authority and state owned mining company; and come up with regulations for the revised Mines and Minerals Act through public consultations.

49 thoughts on “CSOs call for transparency in minerals sector Governance”

  2. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

    Reply

  40. I am really impressed with your writing skills and also with
    the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize
    it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare
    to see a nice blog like this one nowadays.

    Reply

  41. Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are
    a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche.
    Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!

    Reply

  43. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot
    about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but
    other than that, this is great blog. An excellent read.
    I’ll definitely be back.

    Reply

  46. Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to understand a lot about this, like you wrote
    the e book in it or something. I think that you can do with some percent to pressure the message house a bit, but other than that, that is
    fantastic blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.

    Reply

  47. Howdy fantastic blog! Does running a blog like this require a great deal of work?
    I’ve virtually no expertise in computer programming but I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways,
    should you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please share.

    I understand this is off subject nevertheless I just needed to ask.
    Appreciate it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply