STATEMENT OF THE AFRICA INITIATIVE ON MINING, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
(AIMES)

We, members of the Africa Initiative on Mining,
Environment and Society (AIMES) from Angola,
Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique,
Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia in
collaboration with our northern partners from
Canada and the United Kingdom meeting in Accra
Ghana, from April 30 to May 2, 2004 to discuss
the pressing challenges facing Africa's
extractive sector, in particular mining, oil,
gas, and forestry, and concluded thus:

Observations

Participants observed that the extractive sector
activity in its current setting is contradictory
to the interest and concerns of local communities
and the developmental priorities of African
national economies. Although perceived as
catalyst for economic growth and development,
extractive sector activity undermines economic
development and environmental diversity; destroys
community livelihood; violates peoples rights;
and account for civil strives, social
dislocation, and health impact.

The meeting observed that foreign direct
investment in Africa's extractive sector has
significantly increased over the last few
decades. The increase however, has been
inconsistent with poverty reduction, environment
protection, and respect for human rights in
recipient countries.

Impacts

The increased investment has rather resulted in:

1. Increased poverty due to retrenchment,
employment uncertainties, repatriation of
extractive sector wealth, discriminatory tax
regimes, low royalties, and general inequality
regarding benefits sharing.
2. Heightened environmental problems
manifested in deteriorating health conditions,
air and water pollution, dewatering effect, rapid
decline of forest estates and biodiversity
hotspots, land degradation and access to land,
and the increasing externalisation of
environmental cost by corporations.
3. Increased social conflicts including
civil strives of different levels of intensity,
resulting from denial of extractive sector
wealth, destruction of sources of livelihood,
dislocation and displacement.
4. Human rights abuses especially against
rural communities living within the precincts of
extractive sector projects.
5. Diminishing role of the state in
extractive sector governance and citizens'
protection, measured against the increasing power
of transnational corporations, and also the
increasing role of the state in protecting and
promoting the interest of transnational
corporations.

The meeting noted that increased extractive
sector activity has led to increasing debt burden
of African countries and a declining quality of
life for peoples living in extractive communities
and states as nations derive cosmetic, little or
no benefit from the extractive industries. These
problems are reinforced by the attitude,
behaviour and practices of the state and
transnational corporations, and also neo-liberal
regional development frameworks and international
agreements.

The state

The meeting noted that the repressive power of
the state has increased. The attitude and
behaviour of the state and its institutions has
been hostile towards its citizens who are
determined to promote their interest and rights
vis-à-vis that of transnational corporations.
There are instances across Africa where we
witness state repression through the use of
private and state security against communities
and citizens for expressing dissenting views or
making legitimate demands. This attitude and
behaviour of the state inhibits transparency and
participation in extractive sector issues.

Further, it was noted that the political and
administrative structures of the state are so
weak to address extractive sector impacts more so
when these structures are compromised by
corruption and abuse of power.

Regional integration and NEPAD

Although the meeting welcome the principle behind
regional integration initiative, participants
expressed concerns that the institutions and
neo-liberal development frameworks would further
advance globalisation and increase exploitation
of Africa's extractive sector.

The meeting noted that NEPAD as a regional
development framework has already set the stage
for excessive exploitation of Africa's mineral
resources. The meeting regretted that while NEPAD
identifies mining as a critical area for market
access for achieving sustainable development in
the 21st century it however fails to develop
adequate strategies for maximising the returns on
mining and mitigating its impact. NEPAD as a
regional development framework is fundamentally
flawed in a number of respects:
a) it lacks an international framework for environmental governance;
b) it sets out conditionalities that are a direct
replica of the IMF/WBG conditionalities.

Industry

Participants noted that the practices and
behaviour of industry in the extractive sector
has been manipulative as they become more
aggressive in their lobby and influence of
national policy choices for the extractive sector
to serve industry interest. In spite of increased
participation by industry in Africa's extractive
sector there has been virtually very little or no
forward and backward linkages and value-addition
due to high offshore retention and lack of
processing.

Geo-political threat of the US in Africa

The Gulf of Guinea now labelled as the New
Persian Gulf is increasingly becoming a prime
focus for some northern governments especially
the United States of America. Aware of the
implications of oil on conflict and poverty the
meeting expressed concerns about the increasing
interest of the United States in the New Persian
Gulf.

IMF/WBG/WTO

At the international level, participants observed
with concern that the policy prescriptions by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank Group (WBG) and agreements within the WTO
are inconsistent with the development needs and
priorities of African countries.

The policy prescriptions for the extractive
sector are pitching mineral endowed African
countries in a competition for the bottom.
Indeed, under the WTO general agreement on trade
in services, multilateral and bilateral donors
are fragmenting African economies by demanding
services liberalization. This agreement is set to
prise open the extractive sector for the benefit
of transnational corporations at the expense of
national economies, workers, local communities,
the poor and vulnerable groups on the continent.

Demands

1. African governments should respect the
human rights and fundamental freedoms of their
citizens, recognise civil society as partners and
therefore cease any further state repression
against local communities.

2. We demand that African governments should
resist any pressure to commit the extractive
sector in the General Agreements on Trade in
Services (GATS).

3. The meeting welcomes the Extractive
Industries Review (EIR) final report and demand
its full implementation by the World Bank Group,
African Governments and Industry. In particular
the recommendations on respect for human rights,
prior informed consent, revenue management, no-go
areas, and good governance and policy reforms.

4. We denounce the criticisms of the EIR
final report by some African governments as the
report made progressive recommendations that
should be adopted and promoted.

5. We re-affirm our earlier demand for the
World Bank Group (WBG) to stop any financing for
extractive industries until adequate and
transparent mechanisms are established for
lending as well as damages to national economies,
local communities and environment by current
World Bank Group financing, among others, are
addressed.

6. We demand of African governments to
conduct adequate and independent cost-benefit
analysis on the extractive sector.

7. We demand the total cancellation of
African debt. Debt servicing has been and
continues to be one of the major constraints to
African economies. The cancellation of debts
coupled with good governance will allow African
countries to invest in more productive and
sustainable sectors of the economy for the
benefit of the mass of the peoples.

8. We demand of industry and the World Bank
Group to pay reparation for environmental
destruction, pollution, and human rights abuses
caused through extractive sector activity.
Conclusion

In recognition of the foregoing, we re-affirm our
solidarity with local communities affected by
extractive sector activity, and also our
determination to work together, and in solidarity
with our partners in the global south and north,
to building and strengthening a Pan-African
platform for advocacy on extractive sector issues.

List of individuals/Organisations
1. Environmental Rights Action/Oilwatch Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
2. MiningWatch Canada
3. CECIDE, Conakry, Guinea
4. Jubilee 2000 and Media XXI, Luanda, Angola
5. Livaningo, Maputo, Muzambique
6. Guamina, Bamako, Mali
7. Institute of Human Rights & Humanitarian Law (IHRHL)
8. Citizens for a Better Environment, Kitwe, Zambia
9. GREENDEV, Antananarivo, Madagascar
10. Mines and Communities (MAC), London
11. Environmental JusticeNetwork Forum (EJNF), Johannesburg, South Africa
12. Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
13. ABANTU for Development, Accra, Ghana
14. Kwadwo Afriyie, Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
15. Civic Response (CR), Accra, Ghana
16. Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), Accra, Ghana
17. Amansie West Community Group, Obuasi, Ghana
18. Third World Network-Africa, Accra, Ghana
19. Friends of the Nation, Takoradi, Ghana
20. Friends of the Earth-Ghana
21. Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), Tarkwa,
Ghana.