Mbeki queries Africa Mining Vision progress

Thabo Mbeki pointed to an elephant in the room at the Investing in Mining Indaba yesterday when he said the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) was great, but asked why more progress had not been made.

Mbeki had been asked to comment after attending a session on the AMV, the policy framework adopted by all 54 member countries of the AU in 2009.

The session had been focusing on how to leverage the AMV Private Sector Compact, which was launched last year, to reach consensus on what shared value and shared benefits in the mining sector meant.

Mbeki told the session firmly but elegantly that he was left wondering what had happened since the AMV was adopted in 2009.

“One of the panelists made an important observation that the African Mining Vision was adopted in 2009,” he said. “It is now 2017. What has happened in these years?”

The elder statesman added that he had not heard even one of the big mining companies refer to the AMV in their presentations at the indaba.

“Yesterday and the day before yesterday I sat in the main hall trying to listen to what the corporate sector says, and none of the companies that spoke there referred to the African Mining Vision… none!”

He said the vision was excellent in describing how the private and public sector should co-operate to help to produce a “New Africa”, but asked if it was working.

“There must be something wrong with that,” Mbeki said.

“Is it wrong with us as the public sector, is it wrong with them, is it wrong with both?

“The vision is very good, it is very important for the future of the continent, but we are failing to move towards the realisation,” Mbeki concluded.