The 5th edition of the West African Mining Week (Semaine des Activités minières de l’Afrique de l’Ouest – SAMAO), held in Ouagadougou from 28 to 29 September 2023, was an opportunity for exchanges and meetings. The multi-stakeholder Forum for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Forum) took the opportunity to lobby mining stakeholders to take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into account in the implementation of Local Content.
Burkina Faso has adopted several texts on local content. The latest is the Local Content Bill adopted by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday 22 September 2021. Prior to this bill, the National Local Content Strategy (Stratégie nationale du Contenu local – SNCL) was adopted. According to this Strategy, local content is the value that an extractive project brings to the local, regional or national level over and above resource revenues. More specifically, it is the direct impact on the national economy expected from these activities, in addition to the payment of taxes and the revenues or royalties received by the host countries.
According to Kalid Kéré, President of the CSR Forum, promoting local content (local purchasing and employment) is a fundamental way for mining companies to consolidate their social licence to operate and share wealth with the communities affected. With this in mind, the CSR Forum has made a plea for mining companies to take their social responsibility into account, so that a greater share of revenues can be returned to local communities.
Specific features of CSR in the mining sector
According to Kalid Kéré, mining companies “no longer want to be seen as disrupters of the physical and human environment”, but as opportunities for development wherever they operate. “CSR in the mining sector is therefore a question of governance, public participation, financial accountability, environmental, economic, social and health impacts, added value, research, development and technological information, and human and institutional capacity building”, he explained.
Gaps between the practices of mining companies and the new regulations on local content
According to Kalid Kéré, the SNCL adopted by the government of Burkina Faso and its implementing regulations are generally well received by mining companies, insofar as they are based on existing practices and maximise the economic benefits of mining in Burkina Faso.
Nevertheless, the CSR Forum deplored the fact that these texts do not address the issue of women in the mining sector. Yet local purchasing is a lever for the economic empowerment of women and local communities.
Moreover, for CSR, Local Content is a panacea for maximising the benefits of mineral resource exploitation for local populations by better integrating the mining sector into the national economy. “Given these challenges, it is easy to understand the surge in local content policies in several African mining countries. Mining companies are called upon to support these dynamics and maintain voluntary approaches to increase the benefits for mining communities and contribute to accelerating development objectives”, concluded Kalid Kéré.
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