Foreign mining activities, major threat to Africa’s prosperity- USIP official
By Diana Omueza
The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) says foreign mineral mining in Africa is a major threat to prosperity in the region.
Dr Chris Kwaja, the Country Director of the institute, said this while addressing journalists on Friday in Abuja.
Kwaja spoke on the sidelines of the Early Career Scholars Conference with the theme, “USIP Africa -China Project -Early Career Scholars Project”, in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference seeks to study China’s involvement in Africa affairs, with specific reference to economic, peace, security and diplomacy.
Kwaja said that the black market activities of foreign companies in Africa, particularly in the area of critical mineral, were serious security threats to the prosperity of African countries.
This, he said, was against the backdrop of the fact that as foreign companies used artisanal miners to extract critical minerals in Africa, they allegedly did so outside governmental regulatory policies.
“There is the fact that foreign companies are expanding their interest and influence in Africa as a counter to western interests.
“While these companies are visible in the mining sector, the environmental and health impact of their activities have not been properly documented.
“This is a responsibility that policy and academic actors should take seriously.
“As these companies get involved in the extraction of critical minerals, they do so with little or no regard for rules and regulations as they exist in the African economies,” he said.
Kwaja said that abuse and non-adherence to environmental protection rules had allegedly become a defining feature of foreign involvement in Africa’s critical mineral sector, which should be of concern to African leaders.
He called for regulations and effective monitoring as well as more stringent laws to guide mining activities, especially legal frame works to protect host communities. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Francis Onyeukwu/Vivian Ihechu
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- Senior Editor
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