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At the 2020 Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), which runs from 3 – 5 February in Cape Town, Corruption Watch will host two important sessions that address specific challenges in the extractive industry sector, and the impact on communities affected by mining operations.

On Monday 3 February, the session focuses on the link between transparency and sustainable mineral development, and the impact of decisions made in the “value chain”. These include the granting of rights and authorisations, regulation and monitoring of operations, collection of taxes and royalties, revenue management and allocation, and how projects and policies are implemented.

In particular, Corruption Watch will draw attention to mining operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, both non-implementing countries of the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), and both of which would benefit from the financial transparency that being a signatory to EITI standards would bring. This promises to be an interesting discussion about the different dimensions of transparency and beneficial ownership in relation to sustainable mineral development. Participating in this session will be TI Zimbabwe, TI Australia, Amabhungane and Open Ownership.

The second session hosted by Corruption Watch, on Thursday 4 February, will unpack the role of traditional leadership and governance through the prism of land, mining and corruption, and also in the context of the Traditional Khoisan Leadership Bill, signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November last year.

The panel, comprised of leading civil society organisations in this space, will interrogate the extent to which communities have been excluded from decisions on how their land is used, the lack of consultation, and failure to obtain consent from communities and landowners in relation to activities taking place on their land.

Participating organisations include the Land Accountability and Research Centre, Alliance for Rural Democracy, and PLAAS. The key question is whether the current legislative framework that encompasses living customary law is in conflict with the principles of democracy, and whether traditional leadership structures are committed to upholding the participation rights of all, and to shared prosperity.

Join Corruption Watch at these two important sessions that have relevance for the future sustainability of mining and its impact on communities in South Africa.

EVENT DETAILS

Can ownership and financial transparency enhance sustainable mineral development in Africa?

Date:     Monday 3 February 2020
Time:     18h30
Venue: Queens Room 1, Double Tree Hotel, Rickfield Road, Woodstock,  Cape Town

Part II of the critical reflections series on the role of traditional leadership and governance through the lens of land, mining and corruption.

Date:     Tuesday 4 February 2020
Time:     18h30
Venue: Queens Room 1, Double Tree Hotel, Rickfield Road, Woodstock,  Cape Town

Find more information on these important topics in the following recent articles produced by Corruption Watch, on transparency in mining and the exclusion of communities in mining-related issues.

Media contact:

Phemelo Khaas                 083 763 3472                      phemelok@corruptionwatch.org.za