YAOUNDE, June 28, 2012 – The Mining Sector Capacity Building Project (PRECASEM) was signed by the Government of Cameroon and the World Bank on June 28, 2012.
This technical assistance project, which was approved by the World Bank’s Executive Directors on December 15, 2011, seeks to improve (i) efficiency and transparency in mining sector management and (ii) the frameworks for sustainable mining development.
To that end, the project will focus on institutional strengthening and local/regional integration of mining activities. It will contribute to the strategic objective—which extends beyond the scope and timeline of this project—of scaling up the mining sector’s contribution to sustainable growth and development.
In his opening remarks at the Forum, Dr. Fuh Calistus Gentry, Secretary of State for Mines, Industries, and Technological Development (MINMIDT), underscored the importance of this project in “informing the world of our country’s enormous mining potential and the status of projects already under way, and attracting new investors to finance new mining operations in areas that have yet to be explored.”
A project preparation fund in place since August 2011 facilitated the launch of the project’s initial activities, including the publication of and consultations on the terms of reference for the environmental and social strategic study, as well as the participation in the organization and convening of the Second Mining Forum held in Yaoundé from May 29–31, 2012 under the theme “Stakes and Opportunities of Mining Development: The Challenge of Governance.”
This Forum provided all mining sector stakeholders in Cameroon with the opportunity to initiate dialogue and discussions in line with the project’s objectives, in particular with respect to stakeholder coordination, increased transparency, and the establishment of an accountability platform for the development of Cameroon’s mining sector.
In this regard, in his closing remarks at the Mining Forum, Mr. Gregor Binkert, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon, noted the importance of the project in “providing support for coordination among ministerial departments, which is critical to the development of the mining sector in Cameroon and all other mining countries.”
