CSOs urge Africa to stop giving mines concessions
CSOs urge Africa to stop giving mines concessionsBy Gift Chanda
Tue 21 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
AFRICAN governments should be more responsible in maximising benefits from mining through rigorous taxation, urges a consortium of civil society organisations. And the consortium has called on African governments to stop giving concessions to mining companies at the expense of development of local entrepreneurs.
According to submissions by a consortium of civil society organisations from Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe that met recently in South Africa on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba, mining has not fully benefited Africans, the owners of the resources.
It observed that a lack of attention elements such as environmental degradation, deepening poverty levels, and slippages in the quality of life, and label the 2012 Mining Indaba as a "gathering of exploitative profit mongers".
The civil society accused mining companies operating in Africa of concentrating on profits at the expense of the welfare of the locals, adding that governments also focus on attracting foreign direct investment without ensuring that the investment benefits communities and national economies at large.
The consortium condemned the inability of governments to negotiate contracts that could result in maximising the benefits of mining while promoting ethical investment.
"We note with grave concern on limited capacity of tax revenue authorities to monitor, collect and enforce tax laws; legalisation of capital flight through the provision of high incentives, protection of transnational companies, tax avoidance, evasion and transfer pricing; lack of enforcement of existing legislation and in many countries mining policies are fragmented and inconsistent and are not harmonised across countries," observed the consortium in an emailed statement yesterday adding that mining was the worst polluter.
The consortium demanded a review of all current multi-national concessions based on ecological and social standards.
"Governments should be more responsible in maximising benefits from mining through rigorous taxation. They should stop giving concession to mining companies at the expense of the development of local entrepreneurs and must utilise mining tax revenues to diversify their economies," the consortium demanded.
It said transparency in the extractive industry should be improved by compelling mining companies to report their profits on a country by country basis.
Zambia was represented by the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), Caritas Zambia and the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA).
Labels: CIVIL SOCIETY, CSO, MINING, TAX EVASION, WINDFALL TAX
posted by MrK @ 4:31 PM
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