Outcome Document of the Conference

The Just World Conference: ‘Whose Resources?’

29^th – 31^st October 2012, Johannesburg South Africa
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The Just World Conference was organized by the Bench Marks Foundation, Norwegian Church Aid and FK Norway at Willow Park Conference Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 29^th to 31^st October 2012, with participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Guatemala, Madagascar, South Sudan, Burundi and Norway, drawn from civil society and religious leaders.

The conference met in the aftermath of the Marikana massacre which showed the deep structural inequalities of the current economic system in South Africa. Marikana has made it impossible for government, corporations and civil society not to address the questions of ownership of natural resources and who benefits from extractive industries.

Objective of the Conference

The objective of the conference was to share and gain more knowledge about ownership of natural resources and the effects of extractive industries. The insights emerging from this conference were expected to feed into ongoing initiatives to address and campaign against the different forms of injustices in the sector, starting with the question of ownership.

Key Demands for Governments, Corporations and Civil Society

Governments

Governments have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the wealth created by extractive industries benefits its people as a whole. Governments must ensure that the negative economic, social and environmental impacts of extractive industries are mitigated and that relevant laws and regulations are effectively enforced. We therefore demand that the governments:

• take clear action on promoting diversification and beneficiation to ensure that the maximum value is retained in their countries.
• must facilitate local economic development and put conditions on incoming investment to ensure that the operations create linkages to the rest of the economy and that local skills levels are improved. This should also be made applicable to existing contracts through renegotiation.
• must strengthen the legal frameworks and monitor compliance with legislation concerning environmental management, to hold corporations to account for environmental damages
• must ensure that local communities receive reparation and redress from corporations that violate their economic, social or environmental rights as the governments have responsibility to protect their people. National compensation funds should be set up for this purpose
• must, in their standards for reparation and compensation, recognize and address the plight of women in rural communities who are deprived of land, livelihoods, and are not paid for their labour.
• must ensure effective revenue and redistribution policies for the benefits that accrue from extractive industries, especially for the directly affected communities, and ensure that communities participate in defining how the benefits are distributed.
• work towards regional policy harmonization to avoid a race to the bottom scenario, especially in the area of a common minimum tax framework.
• must improve the implementation and enforcement of existing policies, laws and regulations.
• develop policies that aim towards a green and sustainable economy and moves away from the current reliance on extractive industries.
• must respect the rights of workers and communities to demonstrate, strike or protest.
• must respect the rights and dignity of workers such as better living conditions, wages etc.
• must ensure that the communities have the right to say no to mining, and choose their own development path.
• make sure that there are sufficient, meaningful consultations with local communities before, during exploitation and at phase-out/completion of their operations. In addition, the principle of Free and Prior Informed Consent must be employed that communities may decide that certain mining projects are not sustainable or feasible and not be allowed.
• must ensure free access to information for both communities and civil society, independent social and human rights impact assessments that guarantee Free Prior Informed Consent, effective remedies ensuring public participation.
• must address the ills of contract and migrant labour on the mines, which  undermines livelihoods and social lives of members and families in local or host communities and labour sending communities. 

Corporations

Extractive industries are operating in an unsustainable and irresponsible manner and very little of the benefits accrue to the local communities while their lives are being destroyed. We therefore demand that the corporations must:

• ensure that local communities see the benefits from mining through local employment and give priority to local community members. Clear targets must be set for how much labour will be sourced locally, also in terms of skills development in the pre-extractive period.
• be transparent and accountable for the amount of resource rent (taxes, royalties, fees, etc) that are paid and the amount of profits that is being expatriated.
• drastically improve their environmental management and protection and reduce emission levels immediately.
• compensate surrounding communities that have been relocated or otherwise negatively impacted on by the operations of the corporation; these engagements must be mandatory. There must be transparency and accountability.
• execute environmental rehabilitation in the areas that are being destroyed by extractive industries.
• invest in local communities and enable the restoration of the livelihoods that community members lose when mining is introduced. Reparation involves restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition and must ensure the redress of dislocation and compensation for non tangible and social assets.
• engage in a thorough and continuous way with the communities and all other stakeholders. The principle of Free and Prior Informed Consent must be employed at all stages of operations.
• make available relevant documents, like environmental impact assessments, social and labour plans and rehabilitation fund details in an understandable language.

Civil society

Civil society has a key role to play in putting pressure both on governments and corporations to ensure that the benefits from natural resources are distributed to the people and contribute to short, medium and long term development. Civil society must:

• develop a common vision, strategy and organizational capacities in collaboration with communities on how to ensure that the benefits of natural resources accrue to the population as a whole.
• make the stance and experiences of local communities their starting point for advocacy on these issues. Contribute to building strong community organizations that can advocate for their own demands. This must also be linked to national, regional and international networks.
• explore the opportunities to use shareholder activism as an effective tool to change corporate behaviour, using bodies such as the Church Investor Group in London, South Africa, and other African countries with similar groups.
• work on awareness raising and sharing information with local communities and improving collaboration with those directly impacted upon by extractive industries.
• facilitate the exchange of knowledge and support collaboration for new knowledge amongst faith based organisations, NGOs, academia, activists and local communities to
• improve current mining practice
• offer alternatives to mining
• use the Alternative Mining Indabas as a platform to join forces to campaign on these issues.
• facilitate the training and capacity building of local communities and miners.
• work alongside affected communities in determining appropriate percentages of extractive revenue at all levels of value chain addition (from treasury or from fiscus or the corporations directly).
• ensure that the voice and concerns of the impacted communities, in particular women and youths, are heard and addressed.

   Contact details:

   justworldconference@gmail.com, info@bench-marks.org.za
 +27 11 832-1743/2

Presentations from the Conference

Panel 1: The Experiences with Extractive Industries
Environmental Justice in the Vaal Triangle
Experience of South Sudan Oil Industry (Simon Chol Mialith South Sudan oil experience)
Experiences from Tanzania, Rev Simon Mantago
Gubico Study on Post Mining Praxism

Panel 2: Models of Ownership
The Norwegian Model of Petroleum Management *Dr. Bjorn Letnes was unable to attend the conference but has generously shared his presentation

Nationalisation in the DRC, Mrs Mitheo Lola Tumba 

Panel 3: The Way Forward
Women, Extractives, and the Strugglefor Real Alternatives, Samantha Hargreaves
The Zimbabwean Experience, Shamiso Mtisi
Tanzanian Experience- Contrasting Socialism and Capitalist Model of Mineral Ownership, Silas Olan'g

Monitoring school presentations:
Community Monitors Action Network
History of Community Monitoring School,Tshepo Mmusi
 
Chairpersons Input Just World Conference Whose Resources 2012
Gavin Hartfort Marikana lessons presentation
Irvin Jim Numsa and Nationalisation
Shawn Hattingh on Nationalisation

Governments have a crucial role to play in distributing wealth from extractive industries

Governments throughout Africa have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the wealth created by extractive industries benefit its people as a whole, according to the members of academia, churches, civil society and individuals that attended the Just World Conference hosted by the Bench Marks Foundation this week.

The conference, hosted by the Foundation, in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid and FK Norway, aims to share and gain more knowledge about ownership of natural resources and the effects of extractive industries.

“Throughout the two-day conference, delegates from all over Africa and Europe, were encouraged to workshop issues and come up with a strategy to be used in concrete policy advocacy,” says John Capel, Executive Director of the Bench Marks Foundation.

“Questions such as what kind of policies are needed to ensure that natural resources come to benefit the community? What can be learnt from the different experiences and models of ownership? And what can we and communities do to ensure that governments and corporations address the negative economic, social and environmental impacts of extractive industries and that relevant laws and regulations are effectively enforced.”

Capel said that after much debate, the following resolution containing demands on Government were agreed upon by all and will feed into ongoing initiatives to address and campaign against the different forms of injustices in the sector.

“We, the civil society organisations, academia, church leaders, community members and individuals at this conference demand that governments in Africa:

• take clear action on promoting diversification and beneficiation to ensure that the maximum value is retained in their country;
• must facilitate local economic development and put conditions on incoming investment to ensure that the operations create linkages to the rest of the economy and that local skills levels are improved. This should also be made applicable to existing contracts through renegotiation;
• must strengthen the legal frameworks and monitor compliance with legislation concerning environmental management, to hold corporations to account for environmental damages;
• must ensure that local communities receive reparation and redress from corporations that violate their economic, social or environmental rights as the governments have responsibility to protect their people. National compensation funds should be set up for this purpose;
• and, in their standards for reparation and compensation, recognize and address the plight of women in rural communities who are deprived of land, livelihoods, and are not paid for their labour;
• must ensure effective revenue and redistribution policies for the benefits that accrue from extractive industries, especially for the directly affected communities, and ensure that communities participate in defining how the benefits are distributed;
• work towards regional policy harmonization to avoid a race to the bottom scenario, especially in the area of a common minimum tax framework;
• must improve the implementation and enforcement of existing policies, laws and regulations;
• develop policies that aim towards a green and sustainable economy and moves away from the current reliance on extractive industries;
• must respect the rights of workers and communities to demonstrate, strike or protest;
• must respect the rights and dignity of workers such as better living conditions, wages etc;
• must ensure that the communities have the right to say no to mining, and choose their own development path;
• make sure that there are sufficient, meaningful consultations with local communities before, during exploitation and at phase-out/completion of their operations. In addition, the principle of Free and Prior Informed Consent must be employed that communities may decide that certain mining projects are not sustainable or feasible and not be allowed;
• must ensure free access to information for both communities and civil society, independent social and human rights impact assessments that guarantee Free Prior Informed Consent, effective remedies ensuring public participation; and
• must address the ills of contract and migrant labour on the mines, which undermines livelihoods and social lives of members and families in local or host communities and labour sending communities.” 

Capel pointed out that governments have the power to ensure that responsible extraction is implemented.

“We have clearly seen not just in South Africa, but Sudan, Tanzania, DR Congo, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe that wherever mining has taken place, social and environmental destruction takes place.

“Failure of governments to actively implement regulations and hold corporations accountable ends with communities suffering and usually ends in violence and in some cases, deaths”.

To find out more about the conference, please contact Bench Marks on 011 832 1743 or email justworldconference@gmail.com.

Heated nationalisation debate in Johannesburg

The only thing agreed upon by all who participated in the debate on nationalisation in mining held in Kempton Park last night by the Bench Marks Foundation, was that the ANC government has failed its people.

The debate formed part of the Just World Conference hosted by the Foundation, in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid. The conference aims to explore the impacts of extractive industries on local communities, gender relations and the environment as well as the different models for ownership of natural resources, based on the experiences of a range of different countries.

Varied views regarding nationalism were presented by members of the panel who argued for and against state ownership of the mines.

Mr Michael Solomon, Chairman of the Mineral Economics Committee, said that nationalisation is neither good nor bad. What is important is how it is carried out and how well the mines are run afterwards. People need to be held accountable.

He said that nationalisation becomes bad when it doesn’t deliver to the people and that it should only be considered if guarantees could be made that it will effectively provide ongoing support and benefit to communities and mine workers.

He also said that we still do not know what model of nationalisation the state would employ, and we cannot just jump in with our eyes closed.

Mr Shawn Hattingh, from the International Labour Research and Information Group, vehemently rejected the concept of state nationalisation as he said the government would never defend the interests of workers. Instead workers must take control of natural resources themselves. He said that there should be bottom-up structures instead of the top-down structures we currently experience in mining.

On the other hand, Mr Andile Mngxitama, activist and writer, argued for nationalisation by the state, but not a state that is run by the ANC as it has governed state-owned entities badly. He said that he does not feel confident that the money will go where it should, as history has shown that mismanagement of funds is the norm.

The overall consensus was that change was required in the mining sector but that there is no simple solution. Nationalisation, if guaranteed to benefit the poor and not those in power may indeed be an answer, but it would have to be very carefully and closely managed by civil society and citizens of the country.

In addition, good leadership and expertise would be required to manage this successfully to ensure maximum benefit to those who are most in need. The question remains, is our government really up to it and are citizens and civil society strong enough to ensure that nationalisation doesn’t become another name for corruption.

The panel consisted of

• Michael Solomon, Chairman of the Mineral Economics Committee, Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Senior Adviser to Raw Materials Group, Sweden. He has worked with Anglovaal, Steffen Robertson and Kristen, Bateman Projects and Mineral Corporation. He was also with the Minerals and Energy Group, African National Congress Department of Economic Planning, Mineral and Energy Policy Centre and is the Technical Adviser to the Royal Bafokeng Nation, Richtersveld Community and Bakubung Ba Ratheo Community. In addition he is a guest lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand, Gordon Institute of Business Science and University of Pretoria.
• Shawn Hattingh who works at the International Labour Research and Information Group, an NGO providing education, publications and research for the labour and social movements in South and Southern Africa. The main focus of the organisation is globalisation and the view that it is not a heightened form of international integration, but an attempt to restructure class relations so as to restore capitalist profitability.
• Mr Andile Mngxitama, activist and writer who holds an MA in sociology from the University of Witwatersrand, is a leading Black Consciousness thinker and organizer. He co-edited Biko Lives! Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko, a collection of essays on the philosophy and writings of B.C. leader, Steve Biko. The collection looks at the ongoing significance of Black Consciousness, situating it in a global framework, examining the legacy of Biko, the current state of post-apartheid South African politics, and the culture and history of the anti-apartheid movements. He is the editor of the New Frank Talk journal, columnist for the Sowetan, and regular writer for various other newspapers. 

To find out more about the conference, please contact Bench Marks on 082 870 8861 or email justworldconference@gmail.com.

Media coverage

Rt Rev Dr Bishop Jo Seokas speach published in the Business Report 29th October 2012

"SA is at war with itself". The Sowetan 29th October 2012

"Locals must benefit from Mining" Ben Turok. The Sowetan 30th October 2012

Statement by the Bench Marks Foundation, independent organisation to monitor the practices of multi-national corporations, asserts that citizens need to be more proactive about natural resources, PolityOrg.za, 29th October 2012

'It's time for miners to benefit', The Post, 30th October 2012

Citizens need to be more proactive about natural resources

It is time for Africans to insist on responsible use of their country’s resources and on conditions to be set when licences are issued, says Professor Ben Turok.

Turok was the keynote speaker at the Just World Conference hosted by the Bench Marks Foundation in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid in Kempton Park today. He has been commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to lead a team of senior researchers on value addition in natural resources in ten countries in the continent,

He added: “The question of whose resources are being extracted is a moot point. In South Africa, we have a clause in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, that says all mineral and petroleum resources belong to the nation and the State is the custodian thereof.

“That means that the mineral wealth beneath the soil is the property of the people as a whole and the State is supposed to represent us all. The State needs to carefully protect the resources and not give licences to just anyone without conditions imposed”.

Turok said that citizens of South Africa and in the rest of Africa should insist that their governments impose conditions relating to humane labour and living conditions, sustainable community development and proper medical facilities.

In addition, he said that monetary and economic policies do not focus on people. A bottom-up approach is therefore needed. It’s a bookkeeping exercise that does not talk to meeting people’s basic needs.

He quoted the current prime minister of Ethiopia, who during a conference in Addis Ababa last week said that the country had changed its economic view and that it is now focusing on empowering the ordinary rural citizen.

“I’m afraid in South Africa we are bedazzled by monetary and economic policies but the very questions about people are a second thought. It is not at the centre of decision making. This is where a lot of our problems are coming from.

“Supply and demand is supposed to balance things out, but we know we don’t have a perfect market. South Africa is a highly monopolised economy, therefore imperfect. We therefore cannot expect the market to solve our problems. We have to look at different solutions.

“Let’s look at the reality, the real economy. What is actually happening on the ground and who is benefitting? If we don’t ask questions, we will live in a theoretical paradigm.

“We need to look at the value chain and see who benefits at each stage and see how we can change this to benefit those who are really in need.”

Turok also said that South Africans forget how much technology and expertise they have in their country, and should be asking why mining companies bring in international engineers when the country’s own universities have engineering departments focusing on mining.

“We should say that we’ll give you the licence on condition that you domesticate the mine. The Angolans are doing it with the Chinese.

“Society needs to rise up and say enough is enough, use our resources responsibly”.

The conference aims to explore the impacts of extractive industries on local communities, gender relations and the environment as well as the different models for ownership of natural resources, based on the experiences of a range of different countries.

To find out more about the conference, please contact Bench Marks on 082 870 8861 or email justworldconference@gmail.com. 

SA is a country at war with itself

South Africa is a country at war with itself, claiming to promote dialogue, but instead stifles those who do not march to the prescribed drum beat, said Rt Rev Dr Bishop Jo Seoka at the Just World Conference in Kempton Park, on Monday, 29 October 2012.

“We won our democratic character through negotiations where people came together to talk and discuss a way towards a solution for the common good for all, but we have forgotten how to do this. We have forgotten how we arrived at where we are today”.

Speaking at the start of the two-day conference hosted by The Bench Marks Foundation, in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid, Seoka said that the country now waits too long before embarking on negotiations.

“There is an African proverb that says that things are corrected through talking. People are encouraged to talk about their differences instead of resorting to fighting,” says Seoka.

“Unfortunately in my experience we have resorted to fighting.

“In Marikana, mine management could have done things differently. The workers had asked them to create space for discussions but they ignored this request. Talking would have alleviated the tension from the start and the carnage we saw happen on that fateful day in August, would not have occurred.

“It took far too long before negotiations started, and too many lives were lost because of this.

“We need to find ways to create that space that our mine workers are so desperate to attain, to reduce the level of violence, and to address the flaws in our democratic society.

“It is therefore, our intention, with this conference, to begin to correct this lack of dialogue.

Seoka said that representatives from a wide variety of sectors are attending the conference - academics, policy makers, NGOs, representatives of local communities, traditional leaders, as well as mining companies - thereby ensuring that as many voices are heard as is possible.

“We will discuss and explore the impacts of extractive industries on local communities and different models for ownership of natural resources. In addition, we will discuss how minerals can bring about development”.

Seoka said that it is important to note that the Marikana story is symptomatic of much bigger economic and social problems facing South Africa and indeed the rest of Africa.

He said that throughout Africa, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed over resource extraction and hundreds of thousands more have lost their jobs in the industry.

He said that questions need to be asked and debated on at this conference, and others, such as

• Whether investment under private ownership is for the benefit of the shareholder and really brings about holistic development for countries and communities?
• Whether investment modelled under the precept that governs multinational companies to pursue their material self-interest at any cost and at the lowest costs possible is really beneficial, and if so, to whom?
• Whether the sovereignty and democracy of South Africa is working if rating agencies are allowed to determine the country’s economic policy?

“These rating agencies say they want certainty, which really means low wages, high profits, little regulation and low levels of investment in communities. This is what started the problems in our country in the first place”.

Seoka says that South Africa has a deep history of mining companies forcing people off their land, using cheap migrant labour, paying very low wages, providing extremely bad living conditions to their workers and having huge negative impacts on surrounding communities.

“Now, when workers demand dignity, a living wage and fair treatment, we are downgraded!

“A democracy should provide for the human rights of all citizens, including the right to decent work, a living wage and collective bargaining,” he said.

“South Africa’s constitution is said to be one of the best in the world, but the majority of our citizens are yet to enjoy the freedom provided for by our constitution.

“Our studies have shown and continue to show a widening gap between communities’ aspirations and the reality of workers in conflict with the powers that be.”

“If we learn nothing else from the Marikana and Lonmin catastrophe, we should at least recognise that to ignore the root causes of discontent would be inviting another ‘Marikana’.

“We need to ensure that there is democratic participation in decision making. We need to remember that community and stakeholder relations are essential”.

Seoka said that we all have two choices:

We can use platforms such as the Just World Conference to reflect on whose resources are being extracted and what kind of world we want. To actively utilise platforms such as this to help shape and inform policy worldwide on just extraction, on who benefits and how we can change resource extraction to something that benefits people, communities, workers and society;

Or we can sweep everything under the carpet and go back to business as usual.

To find out more about the conference, please contact Bench Marks on 011 832 1743 or email justworldconference@gmail.com.

Media Statement by Bench Marks Foundation - Whose resources are being pludered after all?

Ample richness in natural resources has failed to materialise in development for local communities in South Africa, who bear the brunt of the negative impacts of extractive industries in their area. Despite the so-called resource curse, the existence of abundant natural resources can be turned into a blessing, according to the Bench Marks Foundation.

The Bench Marks Foundation, in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid, will be hosting a three-day conference titled the “Just World Conference: Whose Resources?” from 29 to 31 October 2012 at the Willow Park Conference Centre in Kempton Park, to explore how to turn this curse into a blessing.

“We expect to have high-level debates throughout the conference around how natural resources can be used to the benefit of people and what the main obstacles are,” says John Capel, Executive Director of the Bench Marks Foundation.

“A special session on nationalisation will be held at 19h00 on 29 October 2012. Panellists from a mixture of sectors will lead the debate on this hotly contested issue”.

Panellists include:

• Mr Michael Solomon, Chairman of the Mineral Economics Committee, Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy;
• Mr Andile Mngxitama, activist and writer;
• Mr Shawn Hattingh from the International Labour Research and Information Group;
• Mrs Tumba Lola, a former minister from DR Congo; and
• Representatives of unions.

The Bishop of Pretoria, Rt Reverend Dr Jo Seoka will chair a session on Marikana on the morning of 29 October 2012. Questions will be put to the participants, which include representatives from Marikana, as to what the underlying causes really were that sparked the horrendous events of 16 August, what can be learnt from the event and how the events of that fateful day should be understood. The Bishop was involved in the negotiations between the miners and Lonmin and helped bring the situation to an end.

“We are bringing together policy-makers, mining companies, academics, NGOs, representatives of local communities, as well representatives from all over Africa,  in order to spark engagement, open debates and to share and gain more knowledge about a wide range of issues around mining and the ownership of natural resources,” says Capel.

“Struggle Stalwart, Professor Ben Turok, who has been commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to lead a team of senior researchers on value addition in natural resources in ten countries is our key note speaker for the conference”.

Different models of ownership of natural resources will be explored, using a variety of existing models such as the Zambian experience with copper, Botswana’s experience with diamonds, South Africa’s overall mining experience and Norway’s experience with oil.

Other important issues on the agenda are the impacts of industries on local communities, gender relations and the impact on the environment.

To find out more about the conference, please contact Bench Marks on 011 832 1743 or email justworldconference@gmail.com. Media are welcome to attend, but must register with justworldconference@gmail.com for accreditation.

Notes to editors:

Bench Marks Foundation is an independent non-governmental organisation mandated by churches to monitor the practices of multi-national corporations to

• ensure they respect human rights;
• protect the environment;
• ensure that profit-making is not done at the expense of other interest groups; and
• ensure that those most negatively impacted upon are heard, protected and accommodated within the business plans of the corporations.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu launched the Foundation in 2001 and the Rt Rev Dr Jo Seoka chairs the organisation.