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Open in new tab Ghana’s mining communities are still not getting their just dues
Wikimedia Commons
Päivi Lujala, University of Oulu
Ghana has gold, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, salt, limestone, granite and oil. Its mining and quarrying sector contributes significantly to its economy. It is the second-largest gold producer in Africa after South Africa and the tenth-largest producer in the world.
Two years ago, gold, the flagship mineral, contributed 96% of mineral export revenues (excluding oil and gas). In total, the mining sector contributed 43% of export revenues in 2017.
But mining communities in Ghana are generally poor. Mining imposes socio-economic costs on host communities through land acquisitions, environmental degradation, pollution and a high cost of living. Although the host communities are entitled to different types of compensation and mineral royalty transfers, they are still among the poorest communities in the country. One important reason is the local authorities’ capture of mineral royalties transferred back to the mining areas.
In 1993 the government of Ghana established the Minerals Development Fund to, among other things, fund and implement development projects in communities affected by mining. The aim was also to transfer mineral royalties to local authorities. In Ghana, mining companies must pay up to 5% of their total revenues as royalties to the state, and of that, the government transfers 20% to the Minerals Development Fund.
The fund was to keep half of what it received to fund research and development in the mining sector and to transfer the remaining to the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands. This office is a national institution mandated by Ghana’s Constitution and the Stool Lands Act to collect and distribute customary land revenues. The office was to retain 10% of what it received and transfer 20% of what remained to paramount chiefs, 25% to traditional councils and 55% to the district assemblies of the mining company’s operation area. The local authorities were supposed to use the mineral royalties to develop mining communities.
Despite the establishment of the Minerals Development Fund, mining communities remained saddled with social, economic and ecological challenges. This was partly because transferred royalties were captured by local elites. And there were issues around prompt payments to the fund, its legal status and its mandate.
To address these issues, and to establish a mining community development scheme, a new law, the Minerals Development Fund Act was passed three years ago. The scheme is to receive 20% of the fund’s share (which equals 4% of the total royalties paid by the mining companies to the state, or 0.2% of the mining companies’ total revenue). The scheme is to facilitate development in mining-affected communities. In each mining community, a local management committee is to administer the scheme.
Despite its potential, the act has not been able to address the multiple challenges of mining communities. The reasons for this are myriad. But enough time has passed for the weaknesses in the system to be identified. It’s time the government took steps to fix these once and for all.
Weaknesses
There are five reasons why the act will not drive rapid development in mining communities.
First, it does not stipulate how the share going to paramount chiefs and district assemblies should be spent. This means that the act has not been able to minimise misappropriation of mineral royalties at the local level.
Second, the way the local management committee members are selected disenfranchises local people in the mining communities as people are not allowed to elect their own representatives. This can lead to privileged people being appointed to the committees. It can mean that the voices of the community members are not heard when the committees decide how royalties are spent.
Third, the act fails to sufficiently increase the total amount of mineral royalties assigned to the development of mining communities. Even with the new scheme, the royalty transfers to develop mining communities are woefully inadequate. According to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, mining communities would need to get at least 30% of total mineral royalties to address the challenges related to mining and ensure development.
Fourth, the act has no provisions to force the government to transfer mineral royalties in a timely way to the fund. Unsurprisingly, there are still delays in the payment of mineral royalties.
Finally, the act doesn’t ensure transparency beyond publishing the amount of disbursements and spending of mineral royalties by the fund in a national newspaper. There is no information available for citizens to know how much their communities should receive through mineral royalty transfers and the new scheme, or how these revenues are spent in their area. It’s therefore almost impossible to ensure accountability in how the money is spent.
The way forward
To address these challenges and ensure rapid development in host communities, the act should be amended in the following ways:
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The mining community development scheme should be assigned at least 20% of the total mineral royalties.
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Local people should be mandated to elect members to the local committees.
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It should be clear what local authorities can spend mineral royalties on.
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The Ghana Revenue Authority should be mandated to disburse mineral royalties directly to the fund.
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Information on how much the fund, the office of stool lands and local authorities receive in mineral royalties, and how they spent them, should be made publicly available.
If these recommendations were considered, they would promote participatory development and accountability in mining communities as local people would have a greater say in how mineral royalty transfers were spent in their area.
In addition, there would be more funds to promote alternative livelihoods and sustainable development, address environmental degradation and provide social amenities in mining communities.
This paper was co-authored by John Narh of the Department of Geography, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway.
Päivi Lujala, Professor in Human Geography, University of Oulu
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Allow LG elected officials go back to office, CJN threatens
The chief justice of Nigeria; Hon. Justice Muhammed Tanko yesterday during the crossover night through a radio interview has warned state governors not to harass Local government official in 2020.
He said all elected Local government official must return back to their offices on or before 10th January as no caretaker or interim management committee instituted by governors in LGAs will stand.
Any caretaker committee official found occupying any office in the local government council areas on or after 10th January will be shown the wrath of the law.
Justice Tanko also warned that any state governor found resisting elected local government officials from going back to their offices will be taught a lesson of life.
All law enforcement agencies must work to enforce the laws of Nigeria.
All political parties must also support their party faithfuls in various Local government offices to live up to their constitutional responsibilities.
INEC to conduct local council polls as Senate grants full autonomy to LGAs
Nigeria’s Local Government system has received a massive boost as the National Assembly on Tuesday, granted full financial, administrative and political autonomy to all the 774 local council authorities across Nigeria by amending section 124 of the nation’s constitution.
The section provides a subsection that makes the local councils, a full third tier government without undue interference from the state governments.
The amendment was one of the 22 others approved by the House of Representatives last week and ratified by the Senate on Tuesday.
Both chambers through a conference committee harmonised versions of the amendments into the constitution carried out by each of them last month.
By the development, the National Assembly had ratified all the 23 clauses and sections that had been amended by both chambers.
The newly amended document which would be sent to States Houses of Assembly, for approval, also approved the creation of the Office of Auditor General of the Local Government as well as the State Local Government Service Commission.
The section equally deleted the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) from the constitution thereby vesting the powers to conduct council elections on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It however, retained the immunity clause in the constitution for the President and Governors by adopting the Senate version of the amendments on the issue and rejected the House of Representatives version which removed the immunity clause.
The National Assembly also made provisions for Independent Candidacy in future elections in Nigeria by amending sections 65 and 106 of the 1999 Constitution.
Local Governments Must Be Powerful Engines of Economic, Environmental, Social Transformation, Secretary-General Tells Global Forum
PRESS RELEASE
SG/SM/19442-ENV/DEV/1919
24 JANUARY 2019
- SECRETARY-GENERAL
- STATEMENTS AND MESSAGES
Local Governments Must Be Powerful Engines of Economic, Environmental, Social Transformation, Secretary-General Tells Global Forum
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the Global Forum of Local Governments (Ii Foro Global De Gobiernos Locales), being held in Sevilla, Spain, from 24 to 26 January:
I am pleased to greet the Global Forum of Local Governments.
I commend the participating cities and local authorities for their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, advance the New Urban Agenda and implement the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Having been involved in local government for many years in my home country, Portugal, I know that local governments and authorities can — and must — be powerful engines of economic, social and environmental transformation. Indeed, local government networks around the world are already taking important steps to bring the 2030 Agenda closer to the people.
We need greater ambition to fight climate change, the defining issue of our time — ambition on mitigation, adaptation and innovation. And we need more concerted efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, build a fair globalization and deliver robust and inclusive economies while safeguarding the environment.
Achieving all of these goals will require mobilizing additional finance. And much of that finance will need to be localized, to ensure that those taking action on the ground have the means to do so.
Your actions and solutions will be front and centre at several high-level events this year, including the Local2030 high-level event on localizing the Sustainable Development Goals, which will also take place in Seville; the Local Action for Commitments Forum; the Local and Regional Governments’ Forum and the Climate Summit I am convening in September.
Let us use these occasions to strengthen our partnership as we strive together to build peaceful, prosperous and inclusive societies for all on a healthy planet. Please accept my best wishes for fruitful discussions.
© https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19442.doc.htm
Ekiti APC suspends local government primary elections indefinitely
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Ekiti State Chapter on Saturday said it has postponed the local government primary elections in two local government areas of the state.
The ruling party’s shadow primary which was scheduled to hold yesterday was suspended indefinitely in Ado and Ikole Local Government over security concern while the elections held in other 14 local councils.
The party spokesperson, Ade Ajayi, who stated this in Ado Ekiti in a telephone chat with newsmen, said the decision was reached by the party’s high decision making organ following the emergence of a security report that some hooligans were plotting to tinker with the political atmosphere and disrupt the exercise.
Ajayi said that a new date would be communicated to all concerned stakeholders as soon as report shows that the coast is clear.
“The reason for the postponement in respect of the two local governments is due to security concerns. We had it on record that there would be breakdown of law and order. And it was on this basis we decided to postpone the election in the two local governments until further notice.
The remaining 14 Council election will hold today as scheduled”, he said.
The indefinite postponement has created fear and re-awakened the suspicion of some aspirants who alleged the party leadership of plotting to impose its anointed candidates on the people.
Two of the aspirants who spoke to newsmen at the venue of the primary, Alhaji Tajudeen Gidado, and Tosin Aluko, expressed displeasure over the suspension of the party’s shadow election.
They accused the leadership of the party of being undemocratic, warning that they would resist any attempt to impose on the party. In her reaction, Mrs Aluko, an aspirant in the election lamented that the leadership of the party were determined to impose a candidate. But the party spokesman described the allegations as a conjectural statement that lack content of validity in all its measure.
source: thenationonlineng.net
Why Akeredolu Is Delaying Ondo Local Government Elections -Official
he Ondo state government has explained why it is delaying local government elections in the state.
Last year, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu promised to conduct the elections but has not been able to do so.
However, last March, the governor announced that his administration would create LCDAs to attract development to people at the grassroots.
Today (Monday), Donald Ojogo, spokesperson for the state, said: “Even the court process coincides with the general election. Shortly after that there were agitations and the governor felt the best way to bring governance and development closer to the people is to create the LCDA.
“If you now conduct the local government elections before you go ahead to create the LCDA, it will definitely distort a substantial part of the process.”
Continuing, he stated, “It is in the thinking of the state government that this process must be put in place and once government commences the administrative process of conducting the local government election, it would be seem to be seamless.
“For instance, if we conduct the local government election into Ese Odo LGA where we have 10 wards, 10 counsellors would emerge. We don’t know the number of LCDAs that would be created.”
Ojogo assured that within the “shortest period, the process of conducting local government election would be reactivated”.
source: saharareporters.com
THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL AUTONOMY FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
In line with its tradition of taking hard and difficult decisions with far-reaching implications on the Nigerian system, the present government recently re-emphasized financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria. This reminder was contained in a release by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to the effect that from June 1st, 2019, disbursement from the joint state/local government accounts in relation to local government allocations should be credited to local government Account and that states would cease to participate in the meddling of their accounts. This was a seal to the autonomy many Nigerians had been calling for the serially abused local government system in Nigeria. The NFIU directive stopped the control of local government funds by states and limited the cash withdrawals by local governments to N500, 000 daily. The move is seen as the most radical in giving the local governments the needed power to manage their affairs and resources outside the states which have treated local government funds as its own and have released paltry amounts to the councils.
The decision has been widely lauded and seen as a way of ensuring the third tier of government lives up to its real constitutional roles as the tier of government nearest to the people and with constitutional capacity to attend to their basic needs more than other tiers of government. Simply put, local governments have been conquered vassal estates of the states and their resources spent at the whims and caprices of the state governments who have perfected the art of rail-roading their hirelings to control these local governments on their behalf. Through a ubiquitous state/local government joint account, the allocations for local governments have been spent as the state governments deem fit and this has grandly defeated the idea behind the third tier of government as the local governments were reduced to mere appendages that satisfy the desires of the states and nothing more.
But with the emphasis on financial autonomy by the present government through this NFIU directive, there is no doubt that the local governments will play more expansive and vital roles in the lives of the citizens if they manage the resources that accrue to them justly. There is no doubt that the bold decision of the NFIU is freeing the local governments from the stranglehold of the states and unleashing their real potentials on the populace, if the monster of corruption and fiscal brigandage is curbed with this new order. There is no doubt that this decisive impetus granted local governments by this government is going to initiate a regime of responsibility, which has been denied this vital tier of government for the greater parts of its existence.
Before this directive, the local government has undergone a macabre rape by politicians and sundry interests that see the system as a milk cow for them and their cahoots while the interests of the people suffer. Every month, humongous allocations have been released to the local governments and these allocations are appropriated by the states through the notorious state/local government joint account and frittered away in reprehensible manners. Through a shambolic state electoral system, state governors effortlessly impose their lickspittle and feckless hirelings to control these local governments and these were often so powerless to ask questions about the resources of the local governments or challenge the governors to let free these resources. So, with this order, the local governments became more appendages of the state governments while the important roles they should play in the lives of the citizens and for which they were created were abandoned to rot.
Successive governments, especially since the advent of the present democratic dispensation 20 years ago, have moaned in criminal helplessness as this misnomer thrived. Yes, the civil society, local government workers and other motley interests have raised a weak call for the reversal of this order but nothing substantial was done to correct this. The Obasanjo regime whelped in sterile helplessness that the local governments had become mere 774 stealing centers but that regime did nothing to correct this in its eight years in power. The Yar’adua government did not even betray any knowledge of the fact that the system was raped by states and their political actors at will. The Jonathan regime, notorious for its lack of will to even recognize the problems afflicting the nation it pretended to govern, showed no inkling that there was any problem with the local government system when he was moonlighting all over. At best, what happened was the raising of some splotches of noise here and there about local government autonomy and nothing more, as the system practically wobbled under the undue meddlesomeness of state governors.
But with the new directive by the NFIU which is notable for taking hard but necessary decisions that stand to nudge the nation forward, there is no doubt that the original intendment behind the creation of local governments would be realized. There is no doubt that from the ashes of near-death, the local government is about to spring forth and take up its constitutional roles and be held accountable for its actions and inactions. This indeed, is a laudable and far-reaching decision that will not only impact on governance but delivery of democracy dividends for the citizens and generations yet unborn will relish this revolutionary action by the Buhari government which enriches the quest for restructuring more than the slanted political manipulations it had suffered in recent times.
However, this new status calls for some follow-up actions and two of these actions stand out for their presumed impact in ensuring the ends of this radical decision are not defeated in the long run. One is on the quality and conduct of elections into local governments and the other is on the focusing of anti-corruption klieg lights on the local governments to ensure they conform to the noble intents behind this decision.
On the conduct of local government elections, one is positively inclined to recommend that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) take over the conduct of elections to local government councils from the state electoral committees who are merely inclined to ram in the cronies of state governors to control this vital tier through the shambolic and horrific elections they conduct to local councils. INEC should take over the conduct of local government election and streamline it with the national election calendar so there would be form and content to local government administration in line with the new lease of life it had been granted. Leaving the conduct of local government elections in the hands of state electoral commissions will wholly defeat the essence of the bold decision to grant financial autonomy to local governments for governors will merely railroad their cronies in as local government chairmen and in cohorts with them, fangle out ways of still controlling the purses of local governments.
Equally important is the need for the various anti-corruption agencies to increase interests in local governments by closely monitoring the finances of the local government to ensure the helmsmen of these councils do not fritter them away. Granted, a daily cash withdrawal limit has been set but knowing Nigerian politicians for what they are, there is no gainsaying that they will device ingenious ways of short-circuiting the directive as well as other anti-corruption measures put in place to drain the resources of the councils and leave us just at the macabre state the system is now. The anti-graft agencies will have to come closer the local councils and closely monitor their activities if the new policy is not to be frustrated by corrupt players at that level. One way to ensure probity and accountability is to ensure the publication of the monthly allocations for each local government council to enable citizens’ compare such with the service they receive from these councils. But let the anti-corruption agencies carry out regular swoops on the local councils to ensure they don’t become new drainpipes for the resources of the people.
There are very many other reforms needed to make the local government more effective but granting them financial autonomy as had been done by this regime, is like granting it a soul. This indeed is revolutionary but it behooves on all of us as citizens and shareholders of the local governments to ensure that the noble aims behind this bold decision are not defeated by pernicious politicians and their very many sly ways. We can do this by focusing more attention on the business of local governments and reporting misdemeanors in the system to relevant disciplinary agencies for redress.
All said, this new directive merits any worthwhile praise and commendation for mustering the scarce political will to take this radical decision that will not only restore the potency, viability and importance of this tier of government but redraw the governance map in Nigeria at the local government level.
Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani Esq, MOU).
Before governors milk LGA funds dry
The agitation for local government’s independence has been louder in recent times by well-meaning Nigerians, considering how this third tier of government has become subservient to state governors across the country.
Undoubtedly, the local government is the closest arm of government to the masses as it is entrusted with the responsibility to provide basic services and projects to the communities at the grassroots.
According to the residual legislative list, every local government area has the responsibility for the periodic maintenance of cemeteries, markets and motor parks, waste collection, social care, business support, registrar services, licensing and pet control. Meanwhile, primary education, agriculture, and health, among other activities, are what state governments and local governments can both execute.
While the LGAs would have been able to discharge their responsibilities and also offer good governance effortlessly, there is the challenge of limited sources of revenue, a situation which has made the task of providing or executing meaningful developmental projects apparently impossible at the grassroots. And unfortunately, with the circumscribed share from the federation account, the local government allocations have become Christmas chicken, which the state governors do recklessly feast on at wish.
However, to curtail the avariciousness of the governors, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, had on May 7, issued a guideline to reduce vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawals from local government funds throughout the country. These guidelines, amongst other things, seek to systematically restore councils financial autonomy, ensure funds go directly to the council accounts, help the agency monitor transactions of the accounts, and at most, ensure transparency in how the funds are handled.
However, the governors of the 36 states, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum, have rejected the financial autonomy granted the 774 LGAs in the country.
The 36 governors also approached President Muhammadu Buhari on the actions taken by the NFIU, which they accused of dabbling into a matter that was “beyond its mandate”.
The Chairman of the NGF, who is also the outgoing Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, was said to have signed and sent a letter to the President on behalf of his colleagues.
In the letter, the governors expressed dismay and angst at the NFIU’s “brazen attempt to ridicule” their collective integrity and “show total disregard for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended.”
It will be recalled that the NFIU, which was excised from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, set June 1, 2019, as the take-off date of the new order, making it compulsory for all LGA allocations to go straight to their respective bank accounts.
The NFIU, in its guideline, also pegged the total amount of cash that could be withdrawn from any LGA in a day at N500, 000.
But the NGF Chairman argued that nothing in the NFIU Act 2018 gave the body the powers that it tried to exercise in the guidelines that it released, saying the unit was acting in excess of its powers and in doing so, it showed complete disregard for the Constitution.
The NGF said that local government councils were not financial institutions, but creations of the Constitution. The governors added that they are not reporting entities and therefore, not under the NFIU in the manner contemplated by the latter’s so-called guidelines.
The governors, therefore, contended that the NFIU should comply with “those standards on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and its proliferation as stipulated and not dabble into matters that are both constitutional and beyond NFIU purview.”
The NGF’s excuse, if considered, can be contrary to the provision of Section 7 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which states that the system of local government by democratically elected local government council is guaranteed and accordingly, the government of every state shall ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.
Statutorily, however, the state governments do not need to be worried about this development, except there are advantages derivable in taking charge of the local government finance.
The terrible condition and development at the various local governments have been worrisome over the years. Many Nigerians do not even know the function of local governments anymore. And this is, to say the least deplorable.
In time past and even now, the various state government have been accused of insensitivity, especially as massive corruption has allegedly rocked local government administration in Nigeria.
One can only call on the governor’s forum to embrace measures meant for better governance and stop agitating to keep local government funds if there are no ulterior motives.
It is, therefore, advisable that instead of relying solely on federal allocation, state governors should think out of the box by looking inward for resources to develop and transform their respective states because every state is blessed. They should diversify their states’ economy and increase revenue generation for development.
Also, there must be administrative procedures in our local governments to ensure dutiful, committed, dedicated and effective leaders.
The NFIU decision is well thought out and for the best interests of the Nigerian society, it should be encouraged and not stopped. It should be a case of “No Retreat, No Surrender”.
source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/07/before-governors-milk-lga-funds-dry/