Pretoria – International non-governmental organisation Oxfam said it will be attending the 14th annual Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) with its partners, on the sidelines of the the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), also taking place in Cape Town from today until Thursday at the University of Cape Town’s Business Graduate Conference Centre under the theme, “A just energy transition: Unlocking Community Potential and Participation”.
“Oxfam participants from South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, and Uganda will be at the Alternative Mining Indaba,” according to Nkateko Chauke, acting executive director and programmes manager at Oxfam South Africa.
“As the extractive industries and their stakeholders meet for the annual Mining Indaba, Oxfam and its partners believe that mining-affected communities, non-state actors, and civil society organisations need to reassert their voices and assert their rights on the impact of the extractive industries on the lives of affected communities.
“We are committed to a socially inclusive ‘just energy transition’, which recognises that energy transitions are primarily about people – both those who make decisions and those who are most impacted by them,” she said.
Chauke said the Alternative Mining Indaba provides an important platform for collaboration between African countries, communities and organisations “to ensure that as we transition away from fossil fuels, the transition prioritises people over profits and addresses African energy poverty and access challenges”.
In addition, Chauke said “meaningful” compensation must be provided to communities that are directly and indirectly impacted by mining.
“Oxfam around the world works with communities affected by extractives to uphold their rights to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) when it comes to mining activities, which have had negative environmental, health, social, and economic conditions on their lives and livelihoods for decades.
“As the world grapples with climate change, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the food crisis, growing inequality, increased austerity, and the slow post-Covid-19 recovery, countries in the Global South are hit the hardest and pushed further into poverty,” she said.
Chauke said women, girls, and marginalised people in mining-affected communities carry the burden.
“Oxfam South Africa and Southern Africa believe that the extractives sector should be held accountable for adverse effects of mining, that the sector should not be allowed to operate with impunity, and that communities need strategies to ensure they have meaningful participation in the activities undertaken by mining cooperatives in collaboration with governments in their areas,” said Chauke.
She said Oxfam supports the Alternative Mining Indaba as an alternative voice for communities and seeks to be part of an engaged African citizenry that will use that voice and agency to demand policy reforms, transparency, accountability, and responsive supply chains in the mining sector.
Ramaphosa delivered his keynote address at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, aimed at driving investments in Africa.
The Indaba is taking place from Monday until Thursday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, under the theme ‘Unlocking African Mining Investment: Stability, Security, and Supply’.
The Indaba is the largest mining investment event in Africa attended by heads of state and government, senior government representatives, mining industry leaders and investors from all over world.
