1. Background

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is a public interest environmental law organization working on the promotion of environmental justice in Southern Africa through sustainable and equitable utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. ZELA is implementing a project focused on Strengthening Mining Fiscal Transparency and Accountability in Zimbabwe.

Despite Zimbabwe’s huge mineral wealth endowment[1], mining fiscal linkages are weak due to poor mineral revenue transparency and accountability[2]. Policy gaps necessary to curb rent-seeking behavior pertain to failure to publicly disclose mining agreements[3]; noncompetitive bidding in awarding mining rights[4]; non-disclosure of revenue per project[5]; non-disclosure of beneficial ownership[6]; and lack of a computerized mining title management system[7]. It is fundamental that the legal regulatory landscape for disclosure of beneficial ownership and control in Zimbabwe be enhanced to build confidence in markets towards vision 2030 of an upper middle-income economy per the Transitional Stabilization Programme.

It is against this background that ZELA developed a draft research paper on Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Zimbabwe focusing on the mining sector. To that end, ZELA is seeking a Consultant to review this paper and further produce a Position Paper on Beneficial Ownership Disclosure to contribute towards fostering a culture of transparency and good corporate governance in the mining sector.

• Main objective of thereview and Position paper

To review the draft research paper on Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Zimbabwe focusing on the mining sector and develop a position paper to inform legal and policy framework discourse and reforms on beneficial ownership transparency in the mining sector in Zimbabwe.

The Consultant will be expected to:

• Output/Deliverables

Working closely with ZELA the following deliverables will be expected from the Consultant within 10 days of engagement:

• A final publication-ready paper on Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Zimbabwe
• A position paper presenting an arguable opinion to influence public discourse and policy reform on beneficial ownership transparency in the mining sector in Zimbabwe

• Timeline

The assignment will be conducted from the 20^th of September 2020 to the 30^th of September 2020. The final research paper must be submitted to ZELA by 30^th of September 2020.

•  Applicant requirements/Relevant qualifications

The ideal candidate should have:

• Demonstrable understanding of economic and political context in Zimbabwe
• Demonstrable experience producing economic governance position papers in Zimbabwe
• Minimum of an undergraduate degree in Economics or an equivalent. Possession of a Masters’ degree will be an added advantage

• Application procedure

Persons with demonstrable experience of conducting similar researches are encouraged to submit: An Expression of Interest (EOI) which is not more than 5 pages. The EOI must detail applicant’s understanding of the TORs and costs; a cover letter summarizing applicant’s skills and past experience relevant to conducting this kind of assignment; applicant’s Curriculum Vitae, with names of three referees and their contact details (email and phone). Applications which do not contain all the above documents will be regarded as incomplete and will not be considered. Applications must be addressed to berna@zela.org and cc plaxedes@zela.org by the 13^th of September 2020. The title of the consultancy should be clearly stated in the email subject and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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[1] Zimbabwe has over known 40 mineral deposits, some of which are world-class deposits. Platinum and chrome deposits rank second best in the world after South Africa.

[2]The mismatch between mining’s significant contribution to export earnings and weak contribution to tax revenue are a major cause of concern

[3] If mining agreements are made public, with clear knowledge of terms and conditions under which taxes are paid, citizens can pressure government and corporates to sign fair deals.

[4] Competitive bidding creates opportunities for choosing investors who offer a greater development dividend, for instance, on contribution to the fiscus.

[5] Mineral royalty income is the only revenue from mining which is publicly disclosed. Mining sector performance in other revenue heads like corporate income tax, withholding taxes, customs duty, tax contribution to local government and rural electrification levy is not publicly disclosed.

[6] The huge risk is that high-ranking public officials can easily abuse their power by failing to manage conflict of interest risk if beneficial ownership is not made publicly.

[7] Corruption is a major challenge concerning allocation of mining titles because the manual system that is used is outdated.