A Non-Governmental Organisation, Women In Mining (WIM), has urged mining companies to initiate empowerment programs for host communities where they operate.
The President of the association, Mrs Janet Adeyemi, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Adeyemi noted that mining could have adverse impacts on host communities, calling on the mining companies to devise ways of minimizing them.
She also asked the companies to create jobs for the community members and ensure that they were involved in decision making process for mutual understanding and an enhanced success.
“The first thing is that in any society let them be part of the community engagement processes, because what obtains in community A, may be different from what community B wants.
“So give them a voice, recognise them as human beings, not to be treated as lesser persons, “ she said.
“Make sure women are involved and there is equity to the ratio of what you (mining companies) are doing as empowerment to them.
“Make sure that the jobs you create are jobs where women can provide services, like women can be supply vendors and they can provide services such as sewing and catering services.
“There is no discrimination to what a woman can do, so I believe that information technology, smart innovations are where women do so well, “ she said.
Adeyemi commended the government for reviewing the Community Development Agreements (CDA) for mining communities, noting that previous one was faulty.
She explained that the reviewed agreement provided the opportunity for host communities to be carried along adequately in the mining processes.
NAN recalls that the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development launched the revised guidelines for the production of the CDAs. on Nov.16,2023
The CDA is a statutory provision that ensures the provision of socio-economic benefits to mining communities.
NAN also recalls that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, said in January that measures had been put in place to begin enforcement of CDAs compliance where s defaulters would be sanctioned.
