Accra, Aug 14, GNA - Mrs Buyelwa Sonjica, South African Minister of State in charge of Minerals and Energy, has called for expedite action on the harmonisation of Africa's mining policies, which she said would put Africa at a comparative advantage.

"We must speed up the process of harmonizing African mining policy framework as it would allow Africa to arrive at its comparative advantage, which would eventually lead to competitive advantage with or beneficiation intervention," she said. Mrs Sonjica, who said this at the 4th Mid-Term Review of the African Mining Partnership (AMP) Ministerial Meeting on Thursday in Accra, also called for co-ordinated effort between African energy experts to promote energy commodities on the African continent. She noted that such collaborative effort would provide the input materials required for value added products intended for consumption in Africa and elsewhere. "It is evident that the value addition of our respective commodities presents opportunities for demand and markets, particularly for artisinal and small scale mining on the continent," Mrs Sonjica said.

The review meeting was attended by Ministers from Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt as well as representatives from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Communities and Small Scale Mining Africa (CASM), an inter governmental organization and ECOWAS. It was aimed at developing strategies leading to the creation of an enabling environment for mining and its related industries. The New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) Secretariat organised the meeting under the theme: "Optimizing Africa's Mineral potential for Peace and Prosperity".

Mrs Sonjica said it was essential to consider beneficiation of energy commodities in order to generate adequate supply of energy that would underpin the envisaged growth in Africa's mining sector. "Other projects of AMP that seem non-core such as the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) should not be left unattended as already prescribed by the European Commission's legislation," she said.

Mrs Sonjica said a combination of strategies such as lobbying and identification of projects must be sought to ensure that Africa gains. She said as Africa progressed with the implementation of the resolutions of the 2008 AMP plenary, it was important to develop a comprehensive value proposition for establishment of a permanent secretariat.

She said if mining initiatives introduced to Africa by others such as the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, the Extract Industries Transparency Initiative and others have made significant progress, the scope of AMP affords the continent a unique opportunity to achieve more. Mrs Sonjica said AMP Executive Committee must create an enabling environment for meaningful participation of vulnerable groups, since the paucity of skills required in advancing the minerals and mining sector cuts across all needed skill sets.

Mrs Esther Obeng Dapaah, Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines urged member countries to accelerate the process of extending their Exclusive Economic Zone in order to benefit from the natural resources including oil and gas.

"Since the formal launch of AMP in 2004, we have never had any opportune time than now to get affiliated to the African Union (AU). "We need combination strategies for African countries to synergize their energies for the creation of energy pools for the development of the mineral industry," she said. The next plenary session on AMP would take place in Cape Town, South Africa next year.