The West African Civil Society Forum hosted a team from Ford Foundation at its regional headquarter in Abuja, Nigeria on 14th October, 2022. This comes months after series of regular engagement with Ford Foundation to address salient management issues in the organization.
While promising its continuous engagement and partnership with WACSOF, Ford Foundation highlighted key areas to further strenghten its relationship with WACSOF.
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WACSOF organized a 2-day training of a group consisting of participants including communities’ leaders, religious leaders and government experts on the provisions of the ECOWAS Harmonized Mining Code (EMMMDA), related to the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders and how the EMMMDA contributes to peace building and conflict prevention. The participants involved are from the mining communities of KALANA and NAMPALA in the region of SIKASSO in the republic of MALI.
During the training the ECPF (ECOWAS CONFLICT PREVENTION FRAMEWORK) was presented and detailed as well as many provisions of the EMMMDA related to conflict prevention.
The Participants were grateful to WACSOF and its partners and appreciated the added value of the training in their engagement with the mining companies and other stakeholders.
The African continent is blessed with a rich reserve of natural resources. Africa holds approximately 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves, as well as a substantial hydrocarbon (oil and gas) reserves. Despite being so richly endowed, Africa remains one the poorest continents in the world. Among many causes: unfair tax regimes, illicit financial flows, corruption, bad governance.
WACSOF, the umbrella network of Civil Society Organisations in West Africa is leading a regional movement on advocacy, capacity building, public awareness in the area of extractive industries. Following are some activities WACSOF organised or participated:
Due to bad governance in the extractive industry, ECOWAS adopted in 2019, with the support and leadership of WACSOF in mobilizing the West African Civil Society, the ECOWAS Model Mining and Mineral Development Act (EMMMDA), to standardize practices in the mining sector, for the benefit of the citizens.
WACSOF is innovating in using this important code as conflict prevention tool, as an implementation of the ECPF (ECOWAS CONFLICT PREVENTION FRAMEWORK), by sensitizing and training all the stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the EMMMDA. WACSOF has been leading training, sensitization and advocacy activities in MALI (in the SIKASSO region, especially in the mining communities of KALANA and NAMPALA), with the full involvement and support of WACSOF-FOSCAO MALI and GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflicts) CSO members.
The following are the activities of WACSOF summarizing the solution implementation:
– INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITIES: WACSOF and CSO members met with commnities and religious leaders to present our plans and have their blessings. They helped identify participants among hundreds. The discussion was held to identify challenges with exploitation of mining in their communities.
– TRAININGS: WACSOF and CSO members met Mining community members to discuss their key challenges with the exploitation of mining in their communities. Technical Trainings were performed with different groups including CSO’S community and religious leaders, Women, youth and government experts on the provisions of the EMMMDA. Advocacy training on the provisions of the EMMMDA related to the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders and how the EMMMDA contributes to conflict prevention and peace building. Approximately 300 persons were met and trained. This includes community leaders, religious leaders, CSO, Media, community members youth, women from the KALANA and NAMPALA mining communities.
– 2-DAYS HIGH LEVEL POLICY DIALOGUE was organised with more than 50 participants. This policy dialogue served as a forum for policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to have an inclusive discussion on their roles and responsibilities and the use of the EMMMDA as a tool for conflict prevention.
– MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION OUTREACH: A series of communications and media interventions to sensitize the region of and around Sikasso and the whole Mali.
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