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The Jonathan Administration is committed to the opening up
of the Nigeria solid mineral sector as another line of
economic mover, as oil and gas, Minister of Mines and Steel
Development, Arc. Muhammed Sada, told visiting Task Team
Leader of the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources
Project, (SMMRP) Mrs. Ekaterina Mikhaylova, who visited his
office on Friday.
Architect Sada said the development of the mining sector was
a major element of President Jonathan’s transformation
agenda.
He said the President was concerned about the sustainability
of the gains achieved so far with the mining sector reforms
and that was the reason for his being returned to the
ministry.
To fast track the development of the sector, he said federal
government was working on the development of growth
corridors for various strategic minerals around the country.
He said the ministry would work with other government
ministries and agencies, such as the Ministries of
Transport, Power, Works, Environment, Trade and Investment
to provide the needed infrastructure in the corridors. The
infrastructure shall include power, roads, rail lines, and
other amenities to provide the condusive environment for
investors, in the sector.
He also told his guest that an investment promotion section
was being put in place in the ministry to provide a platform
for the technical people in the ministry to address the need
of investors. The ministry is also synergising with the
Ministry of Trade and Investments and Nigerian Investment
Promotion Council (NIPC) in this regard.
Architect Sada thanked the World Bank for the intervention
fund which he said was critical to the success achieved so
far in the sector.
With the completion of the regulatory framework and other
reforms in the sector, the Minister spoke of the need to
take the sector to the next level by putting the regulatory
instrument to test with the aim of making adjustments where
necessary.
He said the ministry intended to address the challenges of
lack of effective oversight and supervisory platforms for
the sector. Besides he said government would provide
extension services for artisanal and small scale miners
along the lines of what was operating in the agricultural
sector.
He said the Federal Government was committed to increase
funding of the sector. Apart from increase budgetary
allocation he said the Solid Minerals Development Fund was
being put in place.
While the government was committed to increased funding
options for the sector, Architect Sada he said the sector
still required World Bank support to sustain the success
achieved so far and to take the sector to the level where it
could create a bigger impact on economic development,
livehood diversification, job creation and poverty
alleviation . Apart from the area presently covered by the
Project, Architect Sada said government would require World
Bank support for the steel sector because of its strategic
relevance to the development of the mining sector and the
entire economy.
Responding The Task Team Leader thanked the federal Minister
for his support for the activities of the World Bank
assisted Project. She said the World Bank was happy with the
ongoing efforts of the federal government to develop mining
as another major line of income generating activity other
than oil.
She congratulated the Project team for a job well done. Mrs.
Mikhaylova told the Minister that she was on supervision
mission to the country to ascertain the progress of the
implementation of the Project and to address issues of
financial management. She would, during the visit, initiate
a process for the successful completion of the Project by
May 2012.
Consequently she intended to conduct field trips to project
activities around the country and see how to fast track the
execution of existing commitments and accelerate
disbursements, ahead of the closing date. Mrs. Mikhaylova
was also concerned about the ways government would sustain
the gains made by the Project after the completion date.
Specifically, on the World Bank assisted state of the art
laboratory equipment of the National Geosciences Laboratory
Kaduna, Mrs. Mikhaylova said the bank was concerned with its
sustainability and suggested that government should consider
the outsourcing of the management of the laboratory as an
exit strategy. She wanted the government through the
Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project to come
up with a business plan that would ensure commercial
viability, sustainability, global acceptability through ISO
(International Standard Organisation) Certification. |
