Date of Release: 14 April, 2023

1. Preamble  

Since the adoption of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) in 2009, stakeholders are increasingly realizing its value proposition, as an effective framework for designing a resilient, effective, and well-governed African mining sector. At the core of the AMV is the enhanced contribution of the mining sector to Africa’s sustainable development and industrialization based on aspirational objectives of transparent, optimal, and equitable exploitation of mineral resources. Several developments have taken place since the adoption of the AMV aimed at strengthening its implementation. These include the development of the Country Mining Vision Guide Book, the African Minerals Governance Framework (AMGF), the establishment of the Africa Minerals Development Center (AMDC), the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (ACFTA), and the ongoing development of an African Green Minerals Strategy.

It is against this background that a multi-stakeholder group two-day workshop was convened by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) in collaboration with the AMDC from 15 to16 March 2023, at Kadoma Hotel, in Zimbabwe on strategising for the ratification of the African Minerals Development Center (AMDC) statutes to clear the path for the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision. Themed ‘Leveraging the Africa Mining Vision to Unlock the Sustainable Development Dividend’ the specific objectives of the workshop were; 

• To facilitate for multi-stakeholder engagements on the value proposition of the Africa Mining Vision.  
• To raise awareness among stakeholders on the importance of signing and ratifying the AMDC Statute.  
• To strategise on advocacy initiatives that push for the signing and ratification of the AMDC Statute by Zimbabwe. 

Participants included representatives from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs); Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Zimbabwe members, Community-Based Organisations, the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ); the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF); the African Minerals Development Center (AMDC); Parliament, particularly the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development; Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (MMMD), Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; and the Environment Management Agency (EMA). 

The expected outcomes of the workshop on strategies for the ratification of the AMDC statutes were: 

• Stakeholders empowered with knowledge of the AMV value proposition to Zimbabwe’s quest to harness mineral wealth for sustainable economic growth and broad-based socio-economic development.  
• Improved awareness among stakeholders on the importance of signing and ratifying the AMDC Statute. 
• Strategies documented to guide advocacy for ADMC ratification.  

• Noting that  
• The Africa Mining Vision offers a unique opportunity for Zimbabwe to recalibrate its mineral resource governance framework to facilitate equitable benefits  from natural resources as per the founding values of our Constitution. 
• Guinea, Mali, and Zambia are the only 3 countries that have signed and ratified the AMDC Statutes, and Zimbabwe is missing. 
• At least 15 countries are required to sign and ratify the AMDC Statute to pave the way for the establishment of a fully-fledged institution at the African Union to support member states on the implementation of the AMV. 
• Zimbabwe is endowed with significant and diverse mineral wealth, with over 60 different mineral varieties that can be exploited economically.  
• The country’s development aspirations, as encapsulated in the National Development Strategy (NDS 1), seek to optimally leverage mineral wealth for the national development.  
• Considerable progress has been made to attain the US$12 billion mining economy by 2023. Mining export earnings in 2022 stood at US$5.4 billion, double the value of US$2.7 billion generated in 2017. Confirming the increased economic reliance on mining, almost 76 cents per every dollar generated from exports comes from minerals.  
• Prospects for mining as an anchor for socio-economic development have been entrenched further by the world’s attention-grabbing lithium deposits, heralded by a flurry of investments in lithium projects.   
• Zimbabwe has assumed the leadership of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCSC), a tripartite arrangement involving governments, industry, and civil society organisations determined to improve governance in the diamond sector by curbing the flow of conflict and bloody diamonds into the market.
• The increasing recognition among mineral producer and consumer states that optimal benefits from mineral resources can only be achieved through the promotion of responsible mineral supply chains.
• The adoption of responsible sourcing principles by the Kimberley Process in 2021 and the recommendations to the African states  to consider adopting policy or legislative measures to promote and implement responsible sourcing measures or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) systems in the diamond value chain for companies.  

• The reform of the long overdue Mines and Minerals Act is now at an advanced stage with public consultations on the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill having been concluded by Parliament recently. 
• The recent policy actions by the Zimbabwe Government to ensure value addition and beneficiation of minerals especially in base minerals which include lithium  being in line with the Africa Mining Vision.
• Deeply concerned that 
• As enunciated by the NDS 1, weak mineral resource governance poses a huge risk to the national quest to reap optimal benefits from mining.  
• There is slow progress in the adoption and implementation of the Africa Mining Vision, and only three countries have ratified the AMDC Statutes that are critical for establishing solid institutional support at the African Union (AU), to offer coordination and technical services for AU member states to make the AMV a reality.  
• Zimbabwe, a key mineral-producing country in the SADC region and Africa has not signed and ratified the AMDC Statute despite a commitment made in 2009 by the African Heads of State and Government to adopt the AMV.  
• AMV is a pan-African blueprint for transformative socio-economic development through industrialization within and off the mining value chains, and yet the uptake remains weak.  The social development and industrialisation oriented AMV links very well with the country’s National Development Strategy (NDS1), the SDGs priorities of the country, and the country’s 2030 Vision of turning the country into a middle income country.

• The country’s principal legislation governing the mining sector, the MMA is under reform without the express guidance of the AMV and support from the AMDC.  

• The country intends to develop a value addition strategy or policy and finalise the Minerals Development policy.  However, these policies may not fully address the governance challenges affecting the mining sector if they are not benchmarked with the AMV .
• Restating our long-standing call for 
• Optimal leveraging of the country’s finite mineral wealth for sustainable economic growth, transformative and broad-based socio-economic development
• A robust mineral resource governance reforms in accordance with the NDS 1 and the Africa Mining Vision
• Multi-stakeholder engagement for co-creation of solutions critical for data-driven policy, legal, and institutional reforms as per the African Minerals Resource Governance Framework.
• Reaffirming that
  i. Mineral resource governance reforms in Zimbabwe must be prioritised in line with NDS 1 and the Africa Mining Vision.
  ii. The government of Zimbabwe, mainly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development; the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; and Parliament should prioritise signing and ratification of the AMDC Statutes to enable robust mineral resource governance reforms in line with the Africa Mining Vision.
  iii. The monitoring, evaluation, and learning of mineral resource governance in Zimbabwe should be based on the African Minerals Resource Governance Framework.
  iv. The government of Zimbabwe must lead by example in the SADC region, in Africa, and globally by aligning its mineral resource governance framework with the pan-African blueprint to transform mineral wealth for transformative, sustainable, and inclusive socio-economic development.
• Committing to
  i. Continuosly engage the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and Parliament on the signing and ratification of the AMDC Statutes by the government of Zimbabwe.
  ii. Follow up with the AMDC on the legal note for all African member states to sign and ratify the AMDC statute in line with the commitment made by member states in 2013 on the establishment of an institution at AU for coordinating the implementation of the AMV.
  iii. Continue raisising awareness among other CSOs and stakeholders on the importance for Zimbabwe to sign and ratify the AMDC statute through making use of various strategies including the media.
  iii. Raise awareness and seek the buy-in of the mining industry, mainly the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe on the Africa mining vision compact with the private sector launched in 2016.
  iv. Entrench the use of the African Minerals Governance Framework for multi-stakeholder monitoring, evaluation, and learning to influence co-creation and innovation during policy, legal, and practice reforms in the mining sector.
  v. Work with champions in relevant government ministries, departments, and agencies, Media, Parliament, the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, and media to push forward on signing and ratification of the AMDC Statute
  vi. Engage with the SADC Parliamentary Forum and the Pan-African Parliament for sub-regional and continental buy-in on the ratification of the AMDC Statute.
  vii. Petition parliament on the signing and ratification of the AMDC statute.

• Conclusion  

The National Development Strategy for Zimbabwe is clear that weak mineral resource governance is a huge constraint to the national quest to reap optimal benefits from mining. It is commendable that the government of Zimbabwe has made significant strides to reform the outdated Mines and Minerals Act in an inclusive and participatory environment. This year, 2023, Zimbabwe has assumed the global leadership of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and the African Diamond Producers Association. With this leadership position, Zimbabwe must lead by example on mineral resource governance reforms, the trip wire for mineral-rich African countries on harnessing mineral wealth for sustainable development. The ratification of the African Minerals Development Center Statutes to pave way for the implementation of the African Mining Vision can provide inspiration to other countries in the SADC region and in Africa on implementing the Africa Mining Vision.