Gold miners in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) no longer fear homicidal warlords and militias but they are still being ruthlessly exploited – by a plague of corrupt government officials, bureaucrats and security personnel, who all demand illegal taxes, fees and levies from the miners without delivering any meaningful services in return, according to a major research report released today.

Produced by the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW), the report – Conflict Gold to Criminal Gold: The new face of artisanal gold mining in Congo – highlights the poor governance of the mining sector, which could be the driving force behind genuine socio-economic development in the region, and the daily battle for survival by thousands of artisanal and small scale gold miners, who produce nearly all of eastern DRC’s gold.

For more information, go to www.gold.sarwatch.org 

The overall aim was to evaluate the EITI’s impact on the promotion of transparency and accountability in southern and East Africa. Its specific objectives included:

Explaining the international EITI process, including discussing the emerging strategy;

Sharing lessons learnt and best practises in the implementation of EITI in the region;

Agreeing on messages to take back to the EITI International Board on opportunities and challenges in the region;

Agreeing on mechanisms to help nations in their efforts to become candidate and compliant countries and discussing how best to support these mechanisms;

Discussing deeper and wider processes, which link better to other transparency and accountability initiatives at the international level; and,

Debating the merits of holding an annual event to promote the EITI in the region.

The conference was officially opened by Sisonke Msimang, the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), who outlined the rationale behind hosting the EITI conference ahead of the major OpenForum on ‘Money, Power and Sex: The Paradox of Unequal Growth’, which was organised by the four Open Society Africa Foundations from 22-24 May. She stressed that the governance and management of the extractive industries were now at the heart of the debate about Africa’s future.

Msimang said that OSISA had created SARW to produce cutting-edge research, foster policy dialogue and advocate around resource governance in ten countries in southern Africa – namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In particular, SARW focuses on encouraging greater transparency and more prudent – and more pro-poor – policies in relation to the exploitation of the region’s wealth of minerals, timber, oil and gas. She added that SARW has always been a firm supporter of the EITI and had provided technical and financial support to EITI secretariats in countries such as DRC and Zambia – and was keen to promote the adoption of EITI in every country in the region.

Dr Claude Kabemba, Director of SARW, then outlined the institution’s support for the EITI in the region and listed the key objectives of the conference. He also stressed the need to shift the mode of engagement by key stakeholders to ensure that mining companies were part of the process and were encouraged to actively participate – and pointed to the positive reaction from some companies, which had sent representative to the conference.

 Impact of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on the Promotion of Transparency and Accountability in Southe

 The Democratic Republic of Congo Mining Code is up for revision after 10 years of implementation.

China has prioritised Africa as a strategic partner at both the political and economic level and already its drive for raw materials has initiated a new scramble for Africa, the long-term implications of which are uncertain – but a new book argues that there can be a 'win-win partnership' if southern African governments pursue policies that are based on achieving long-term socio-economic and development goals.

Launched today, the book from the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) – Win win partnership? China, Southern Africa and Extractive Industries ­ – adds to the growing literature on the role of China in southern Africa but does so in three distinct and important ways.

Firstly, the book is developed by an institution that is firmly rooted in southern Africa. While there are many Western institutions that produce interesting research on China-Africa relations, this is often developed to answer questions that are important to policy makers in developed countries. The policy perspectives of southern Africans and the interests that southern African research serves are quite different. Therefore, this research is intended to serve both civil society and state actors across this region.

Secondly, much of the research that exists has focused on macro-level economic growth. And while the overall picture of how Chinese activity and investment is driving an economic boom on the continent is important to understand, the studies that have been carried out by SARW and its partners are a critical addition because they provide local-level experiences and practical examples of the ways in which Chinese investments affect various communities in the sub-region, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe..

Lastly, this research provides much-needed nuance. The research shows that Chinese investment is neither an unqualified boon nor is it a bane. Governing elites tend to overstate the development benefits of Chinese investment, while the critics of Chinese investment understate them or deny them entirely. The challenge for the countries of the region is, therefore, not how to deter Chinese investment but how to ensure that the positive developmental potentials are enhanced.

Most importantly however, a thorough reading of this research makes it clear that the real challenges and opportunities related to Chinese investment must be exploited by southern African states. Indeed, as the editors conclude, “the degree to which China helps to develop rather than to exploit the region depends on Southern African governments and their citizens more than it does on the attitudes and strategies of Chinese investors.”

In this context, policy options and dialogue processes become critical in advancing the interests of southern Africa’s economic development, human security and democratisation in the face of the new challenges that China’s growing involvement brings.

The book concludes with a series of recommendations that would help to ensure a win-win relationship with China, including:

Building and maintaining an efficient and effective mining public administration;

Developing the competencies to run the extractive industries;

Strengthening tax regimes;

Building linkages between the extractive industries and local economies;

Using China’s massive finances to support regional infrastructure development; and,

Ensuring that Chinese companies are no longer let off the hook regarding corporate social responsibilities.

As the book makes clear, these actions would help to ensure that the relationship becomes mutually beneficial and that it results in a win for China and its companies – and a win for all southern African citizens, not just the elite.

 Win win partnership? China, Southern Africa and Extractive Industries