On 14 December 2023, the Technical Secretariat for Local Content and Investment Promotion (Secrétariat Technique du Contenu Local et de la Promotion d’Investissement – ST-CLPI) organised an information workshop on local content in the mining sector for journalists with an interest in the mining sector. The workshop was held as part of the implementation of the communication plan for the national local content and investment promotion strategy. Minesactu.info took part in this information workshop on local mining content.
The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss the issue of local content in the mining sector with journalists, with the aim of raising their interest in the subject. It was chaired by Zéphirin Zongo, Technical Secretary for Local Content and Investment Promotion (Secrétaire Technique du contenu local et de la promotion des investissements – ST/CLPI).
Local content in the mining sector is defined as the promotion and enhancement of mining companies and mining subcontractors with a view to improving the national economy. It was established and developed thanks to the adoption of the mining code on 26 June 2015, and its articles 101 and 102. These articles made it possible to develop and adopt a National Strategy for Local Mining Content (Stratégie Nationale du Contenu Local Minier – SN-CLM) for the period 2021-2025 and its three-year action plan 2021-2023. Joint Order no. 2021-163/MEMC/MINEFID of 26 July 2021 put the strategy into operation.
The vision of this strategy is to make the mining sector a lever for sustainable and inclusive economic growth through the creation of local jobs and the emergence of competitive national companies by 2025.
Its overall objective is to promote local content in the mining sector in order to increase its impact on the national economy. In terms of impact, the strategy aims to increase local purchases of goods and services in the mining sector from 20% in 2019 to 30% in 2025, increase direct and indirect employment in the mining sector from 51,631 in 2019 to 100,000 in 2025, and maintain the share of extractive industries in GDP at at least 10% in 2025.
For the ST/CLP, a local company is one in which 51% of the capital is owned by Burkinabé individuals and legal entities. The cost of the three-year action plan is 13.815 million FCFA.
The major challenge for Zéphirin Zongo is to get people in the areas where mining companies operate to understand the concept of local content. To this end, he is calling on the media to play their part in making the concept their own, so as to put an end to inter-community conflicts over the provision of jobs, goods and services. Because “local content” means “national content”. As a result, any Burkinabè supplier of mining goods and services can naturally claim to offer services and goods without having to come from or reside in the locality where the mine operates.
As a reminder, Burkina Faso has increased its gold production from 66.858 tonnes in 2021 to 57.675 tonnes in 2022.
In terms of prospects for the mining sector, Burkina Faso has created the National precious substances company and laid the foundation stone for the construction of a gold refinery on 23 November 2023. SOMITA, which has been taken over by SKYGOLD SA, has resumed its activities.
Moniratou BANDE
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