By
Rorisang David Mahlo
To highlight a few but in no
particular order, the new areas proposed by the draft Mining Bill 2015 according
to the Senior Legal Officer- Liteboho Tlebere, which were not catered for in
the old principal Mining Law - Mines and Mineral Act of 2005 and other
supporting codes were:
Firstly,
the Mineral rights (contracting and
licensing);
Currently there is no model Mineral
Development Agreement (MDA) as thus the need to address policy aspiration of
removing negotiability in mining contracting and have a standard MDA.
Also, the bill seeks to ensure
that mineral rights relating to prospecting cover all known exploration methods
(Geo-physical, Geo-chemical, remote sensing, and other Geological methods).
Secondly, Chapter 8, of Mining Sector Governance;
The current law has no provision
that ensures unhindered access to information in the mining industry. Further,
the mining sector does not have transparency and accountability
guidelines/regulations. Therefore, chapter 8 of the bill seeks to curb the
seeming lacuna in law.
Thirdly, Chapter 9, Sanctions and Penalties and Dispute Settlement;
Currently there is a framework of
sanctions and penalties, but sanctions are only civil in nature. The Bill shall
create crimes in relevant thematic areas which will be punishable under
relevant procedural law. Therefore, chapter 9 of the bill proposed the
different disputes settlement mechanisms.
Fourthly,
the Precious Stones Amendment;
Cabinet has given clearance for
the amendment of Precious Stone Order of
1970. So, it is through this amendment that the
Government is establishing a Lesotho
Diamond Centre whose mandate will be to valuate diamonds for determining
applicable levies and taxes, to facilitate exports and imports of diamonds in
Lesotho, be a platform for buying and selling of diamonds and collect royalties
on behalf of Government as well as issuing cutting and polishing licenses.
The Centre is also going to house
the Diamond Valuator who will be a person with expertise in valuation, buying
and selling of diamonds. The valuator
will ensure that standards are met and laws are observed especially the Kimberly
Processing Certification Scheme (KPCS).
However, Tlebere on the other
side went on to conscientise Basotho that, it should be clear that this is not
a final document, that means since it is still work in progress, it is open for
constructive modification wherever those that have stake may deem it fit to.
Once again for this bill to be truly owned by Basotho Mining Sector as a
Principal Mining Law, certain areas might change to suite what is required by
Majority stakeholders.
Despite that, during his address
on the multi stakeholder forum, Hon. Keketso Sello – the Minister of Mining,
showed that, the move of
enforcing the legislative reforms in the Mining sector is perpetuated by the
long overdue prevailing need to address the developmental goals of the policy
in the legal and regulatory framework.
Adding that, currently, the Ministry of Mining
relies on the following outdated pieces of legislation; Precious Stone Order
1970, Precious Stone Order Regulations 1970, Precious Stone (Diamond Dealers
License 2004, Kimberly Process Regulations 2003, Mine Safety Act 1981 Mines and
Minerals Act 2005, and the Mines and Minerals Amendment Act 2014 hence the
undertaking of legislative reforms.
Also,
Hon. Sello strongly emphasised that, lack of statutes in vital areas such as
safety and occupational health, anti-hoarding measures, corporate social
responsibility, legality of artisanal and small scale mining activities and
illegal trade compounded by inadequate regulations for implementing the Mines
and Minerals Act lead to uncertainty and unpredictability in the sector.
“The Ministry therefore acknowledges that, there
is a need to overhaul the above legislation in order to improve monitoring of
the mining operations with a view to providing lasting and equitable socio-economic
benefits to Lesotho and Basotho,” said Hon. Sello.
In addition, he also reiterated that, the
mentioned pieces of legislation do not contain provisions relating to the
responsibilities and obligations of Government, mine investors and other key
actors, for the realisation of the developmental goals of the policy.
Most importantly, Hon. Sello confirmed to the
Stakeholders that, “with the today`s endeavour, the Ministry is intending to do
away with the stigma of the conspicuously echoed consents of the prolonged
procedures for securing an investment transactions for requiring mining title
transfers, which at the moment are still a hindrance to the flow of mining
investment into the sector,” said the Minister.
On the positive side, the Ministry is pushing
everything to its limits in trying to live up to the expectations on its set
mandate by equipping the Ministry with all necessary tools for regulating the
sector, closing the gaps and levelling the grounds for smooth operation of
whole sector.
While reporting the milestones, Hon. Sello
indicated that, “the Ministry has embarked on development of the Minerals and
Mining Policy in July 2013 and was finally completed in April 2015. The policy
was presented before the Informal Cabinet on the 26th May 2015 and it was
approved,” Said the Hon. Sello.
As a means of gearing into the momentum of
transition, Chief Legal Officer Lesimole Moletsane also contributed during the
forum discussion by showing that, “the Ministry of Mining aims to uphold and to
promote good governance which is characterised by transparency accountability
and inclusiveness.”
Despite that, Basotho will remember that, the
first multi stakeholder meeting for the new Mining legislative framework was done
on the 8th to 9th of July 2015. Comparatively, the first
stakeholder meeting was elevated to the maximum highest level that it deserved,
as it was presided over by the then Prime Minister of Lesotho.
Subsequently, at the end of August 2015, Africa
Mining Development Centre (AMDC) which is the coordinator and the major
stakeholder steering the whole process, handed over the first draft bill to the
Ministry to run with it to its finality. This steps was the earliest signal of
attainment and paving a better way forward for realisation of the bigger
objective which is Africa Mining Vision for Lesotho.
In general the press release published on the
13 of June 2015 by United Nations Lesotho – Economic Commission for Africa concurs
that, “the development of an AMV- compliant legal and regulative framework for
Lesotho, would facilitate the full alignment of the policy with aspiration of
the AMV and set the stage for the successful implementation of the Minerals and
Mining Policy of 2015.”
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