Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho is driving in the right direction to lead other African States in domesticating African Mining Vision (AMV), Ministry of Mining Public Relations Officer, Rorisang Mahlo told the Informative Newspaper yesterday.
The vision envisages transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of African mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development of member States.
Its shared vision comprise knowledge-driven African mining sector that catalyses and contributes to the broad-based growth and development of integrated single African market.
Yesterday, the ministry embarked on a weeklong closed workshop to shape up the Mining and Minerals Bill 2017 at Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village. It is coordinated by the legal department and involves departments of mines and geological survey.
The upcoming law provides room for Lesotho Diamond Centre whose mandate is to valuate diamonds for determining applicable levies and taxes to facilitate diamonds exports and imports.
In November 2017, the second multi stakeholder forum aimed for the said bill was conducted. Then, Mahlo said the current law has no provision to ensure unhindered to information in the sector.
He noted: “Currently there is a framework of sanctions and penalties, but the sanctions are only civil in nature. The bill shall create crimes in relevant thematic areas which will be punishable under relevant procedural law.
” AMV objective is to remove obstacles so to increase levels of value addition in the industry.
Some strategies the policy dictates are to develop a plan for facilitating beneficiation and value-adding industries linked to diamond mining and other minerals; develop skills and technological base to enhance capacity and collaborate with the financial services sector in creating sources of domestic capital.
Mahlo said: “Actually (other) states are struggling even just to structure a mere policy. ” The bill is influenced by the Minerals and Mining Policy of 2015, the first to be issued since AMV adoption by African Union head of states in 2009.
African Ministers responsible for mining agreed on the Action Plan in 2011. Reads the policy in part: “Diamond mining, the mainstay of Lesotho’s mining industry has potential to act as a hub for creating upstream and downstream linkages.
Value-adding linkages extend to industries which provide technological, human resources and infrastructure inputs. ” In 2012, for the first time Lesotho created an independent Ministry of Mining which for years had been a department within Ministry of Natural Resources. Processes were then kick started to consolidate policies and legislative pieces to form a single policy and law.
Former Minister of Mining, Lebohang Thotanyana, wrote in the policy forward: “Ultimately the success of the Minerals and Mining Policy will rest on how well it repositions the mining industry for delivering outcomes that benefit mine investors and the Basotho Nation equitably and in a transparent manner.”
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