Context
Burundi has deposits of natural resources such as gold, nickel, tungsten and cassiterite which have yet to be mined industrially. In its new poverty reduction strategy, the Burundi government describes mining as a key pillar for the country's economic development.
However, the country has no experience with industrial mining and the extractive resource sector has been inadequately regulated until now. The government currently lacks the expertise and resources to regulate the mining sector in line with the principles of good governance, and is thus running the risk that the development potential of this industrial sector will not be fully exploited.
The programme is developing expertise and strategic management structures at the Burundi Ministry of Energy and Mines with the aim of enabling efficient and transparent monitoring of the resource sector in cooperation with other government and non-governmental actors.
Objective
The Burundi mining sector is regulated in line with the principles of good governance.
Approach
The programme focuses on two main aspects: supporting the Burundi Ministry of Energy and Mines in the socio-economic assessment of mining sites and providing advice on how to achieve transparency in the resource sector.
Experts in the Ministry are being trained to evaluate existing mining sites from an economic standpoint based on geological information. Advice is provided on creating an investment manual, e.g. as an online platform, which is intended to help identify opportunities and risks in the sector.
In order to promote transparent regulation of the sector, the project is supporting the Ministry in formulating a resources policy and strategy, both of which will incorporate social issues in addition to economic aspects and public sector funding. Systemic advisory services are combined with network development to ensure that civil society and the private sector are involved in this process.
The project is helping Burundi attain candidate status for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The intention is that this work, in combination with the advice provided on resource policy and strategy, will help the Burundi government bring its activities in the resource sector into line with the principles of good governance.
