ADDIS ABABA, October 7, 2014 - A two day forum on Extractive Industries was launched today to further advance the policy dialogue on the sustainable development of the Extractive Industries in Ethiopia between the Government, Development Partners and private sector, especially from the perspectives of governance, transparency, greening strategies and sound regulatory frameworks.
The forum is jointly organized by the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the African Minerals Development Centre and the government of Australia and Canada.
The two day forum in Addis Ababa is also expected to facilitate the intra-government dialogue and help raise awareness about Ethiopia’s extractive industries sector including recent developments and opportunities.
In addition to enabling participants to learn from regional and global good practices, the forum will also help development partners involved in the sector to harmonize their programs by planning and identifying potential areas for collaboration.
The World Bank Group is supporting the sector in three major areas, building upon the recommendations from the sector assessment. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the artisanal mining sector supporting women involved in artisanal mining, and the strengthening of the Ethiopia’s institutional and regulatory frameworks through a Technical Advisory program.
“Sharing of international best practices on Extractive Industries will contribute to building a solid base for their good governance, which in turn will facilitate sound management of revenue and equitable growth that will further the sustainable development of Ethiopia,” said Guang Zhe Chen, World bank Country Director for Ethiopia.
UNDP is working with the Government of Ethiopia on a two year programme on Strengthening accountability and transparency in the Extractive sector for inclusive growth. “We know that through good governance and good long-term development planning, countries can avoid the pitfalls of the resource curse, and provide quality services, such as water and sanitation; education; and healthcare to their citizens” said Eugene Owusu, UNDP Ethiopia Resident Representative.
A new study entitled Strategic Assessment of Ethiopia’s Mining Sector, jointly prepared by the World Bank and DFID, the governments of Australia and Canada as well as the Ministry of Mines will also be launched during the forum. The study assesses the potential of Ethiopia’s Mining sector to contribute to sustainable economic growth and development. It further provides recommendations for the initiatives and actions that will be required for such development to take place, and identifies the risk and opportunities that this entails. The need for this type of strategic analysis follows from the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) ambition to, as part of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), develop the mining sector to become a main pillar of the economy.
Ethiopia was admitted as an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) candidate on March 2014, a temporary status which is expected to lead to compliance with all EITI requirements. Ethiopia also endorsed the African Mining Vision (AMV), which was adopted by African Union Heads of State and Government in 2009. AMV is the key continental framework for developmental mining and structural transformation of African economies; the vision aims at promoting transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources in order to underpin broad-based sustainable growth, socio-economic development and poverty eradication.
