President Maada Bio of the Republic of Sierra-Leone wants members of Parliament of the ECOWAS region to strengthen laws and policies guiding mining in the region to curb the activities of illegal miners
The President of Sierra-Leone’s arrival kickstarted the 2024 first Parliamentary seminar at the Freetown International Conference Centre.
His speech before he declared the 3-day seminar open was on the economic potential of the mining industry in the sub region and how much illegal mining and trafficking of natural resource, has impacted the region
He urged members of the Parliament to work hand-in-glove with other sectors to realise the potential of this sector.
Suffering amid plenty is the paradox that has become the reality of West Africa and indeed the entire Continent
Africa has about 30 per cent of the world’s natural resources, but data from the world bank indicates that a significant amount of the population in Africa are multidimensionally poor.
According to Statista, natural resources such as gold, diamonds, uranium, Iron ore, Natural Gas, coal, cobalt, and tantalum contribute less than 8 per cent to the region’s GDP .
The activities of illegal miners has also fueled insecurity in areas rich with natural resources.
For Example, in Nigeria the mining sector adds less than 1 percent to the GDP, but another developing country like Chile makes as much as 14percent of its GDP.
Another thing that seems to also be a consensus at the ECOWAS is that the conflict in the sub region can be prevented, and reduced if illegal miners are pushed out of this illicit trade.
The deliberation here is expected to develop a framework that will regulate the mining sector.
