A friend from a gold rich West African country told me recently that the country is giving the Chinese gold mining rights in exchange for commodities and other items they are getting from them. I was speechless. Talking about an unbalanced exchange.
Of course i gave him my opinion on the matter but he did not even appear to understand why I was horrified.
Jabou Joh


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 4:15 pm
Subject: If I had written this report, idiots will accuse me of stirring controversy, but

















  

  

    

      

      
here it is. I can't believe that clueless SouthAfrican 
      Finance minister. Perhaps he's in on the friggin fix. Mining in Africa is 
      biggest criminal syndicate ever known to man. My position is that no 
      African nation ought to engage in mining her mineral resources until she 
      can determine their value and conduct all secondary and tertiary 
      processing at home. No nation needs the mining revenue before it can 
      identify, value, and process the minerals. You are just gonna get majorly 
      screwed. Haruna. 

      
Africa 'loses out on mining cash' 




  

    

      

      

        

        

          

            
=2
0
            
The report says the lost revenues could have been 
            used for 
      development







      
Mineral-rich African states have been deprived of huge 
      sums of royalties and taxes by mining firms, a report says. 
      

The report, by prominent development charities, blames a lack of 
      legislative oversight and excessively generous tax concessions agreed with 
      the firms. 

      
It says some mining companies have also avoided paying tax through 
      secret contracts with African governments. 

      
The study covers South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, the Democratic 
      Republic of Congo, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. 

      
Commissioned by development charities including Christian Aid and 
      ActionAid, the Breaking the Curse report calls for reform of the 
      institutional framework that negotiates mining concessions and monitors 
      the royalties paid.

      

        

        

          


          

            

            
 African countries have been encouraged by 
            agencies such as the World Bank to offer more generous terms to 
            attract mining investment 





            

            
Breaking the
 Curse report






      
Even in the boom times, African nations failed to profit as much as 
      they should have done from natural resources thanks to inadequate tax 
      rules and lack of ability to enforce the rules that did apply, the report 
      says. 

      
Ghana, a top African gold producer, is losing $68m (£46.7m) annually 
      because it is receiving low royalties, the report's authors estimate. 

      
They believe Tanzania, the continent's third largest producer of gold, 
      could be losing $30m (£20.6m) a year in potential revenues. 

      
And low royalty rates could be costing South Africa, the continent's 
      biggest gold producer, up to $359m (£246m) a year, the report says. 

      

      

        

        

          


          

            
READ THE FULL REPORT 

            



            

            
Breaking the Curse [1MB] 
            


            
Most computers will open this document automatically, 
            but you may need Adobe Reader 

            

            
Download the reader here






      

However, in South Africa, where the government has decided to defer 
      r
oyalty payments this year to help secure jobs in the mining sector, 
      finance minister Trevor Manuel questioned the researchers' figures. 

      
Mr Manuel said his country would lose $195m (£133.9m) in deferred 
      royalties this year. 

      
The report says African countries have been encouraged by agencies such 
      as the World Bank to offer more generous terms to attract mining 
      investment. 

      
Essentially, the BBC's business reporter Mark Gregory says, it argues 
      the costs of this approach have outweighed the 
benefits.






 

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