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| The stakeholder consultation took place yesterday at the Mining Business Center in Ivato. |
The stakeholder consultation day to finalize the decree implementing the mining code saw the participation of the community of mining operators and public authorities.
The private sector is joining the extractive sector reform process. The operators define themselves as partners in the mining development of the Big Island. At least, that is what the representatives of the operators indicate, notably through the Chamber of Mines. They came together as stakeholders during yesterday's consultation at the Mining Business Center.
Discussions focused on finalizing the implementing decree of the recent mining code. The words are matched by the deed: “We are willing to register as partners in the effort which must make the mining sector a lever of economic development and a contributor to the large-scale industrialization of the country,” he said. declared Jean-Luc Marquetoux, president of the Chamber of Mines.
For private sector operators, it is also necessary to reassure the country's mining community that the Big Island is an investment destination that is gradually rebuilding its image. The public consultation process is one of these approaches, included in the reforms initiated in the mining code. The legal text was designed following consultations with stakeholders to draw up a series of viable provisions for each party, the State, the private sector and local communities. Although these three stakeholders have already participated in the development of the mining code, points still need to be set to benefit from the mining code and the extractive sector.
Among the points that still remain to be debated, the issuance of mining permits. But other provisions must also be on the agenda for discussions. Yesterday, the debates and workshops focused on the recovery of the gold industry, societal and environmental issues, but also finances and exports. For example, there are questions surrounding the method of collection and the rate of distribution of duties and taxes on mining products. The rate of rebates and royalties increases from 2 to 5%. How will these rights be distributed among beneficiaries?
For Olivier Herindrainy Rakotomalala, Minister of Mines, the implementation of the mining code generates significant advantages for the state coffers in the first place.
