Mining: Expert charges host communities to demand for rights
An Energy, Environment and Sustainability expert, Akachukwu Okafor, has advised mining host communities to demand for their rights to avoid being exploited by mining companies.
Okafor, a consultant with Global Rights and Change Partners International, gave the advice in an interview on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said most mining companies in the country fail to deliver their social responsibilities to host communities because of their ignorance, insisting that there is need for host mining communities to set-up structures that would enable them engage effectively with mining companies interested in prospecting in their communities.
He added that mining host communities should ensure and verify that mining companies conduct environmental impact assessment before they were given mining licences by government to mine.
“Most importantly communities should be vigilant and swift in reporting incidences of environmental abuse and pollution to the environmental protection agency as soon as it is detected.
“This should be done after efforts to get mining companies to address such issues were not fruitful,” Okafor said.
He said while keeping abreast with their rights and privileges, mining host communities should build their capacities in areas of skills needed by the extractive industry to make them employable.
He added that while it was the responsibility of mining companies to provide social responsibility to host communities, government should ensure that laws guiding activities in the extractive industry were enforced.
The expert however, advised that mining host communities should be co-investors in their communities, saying that this is critical to ensure that mining and environmental laws are upheld.
Okafor further advised that mining companies should ensure that they complied with the provisions of the Community Development Agreement (CDA) they sign with the host mining communities, including local content.
