KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS DEVELOPMENT, MR DELE HENRY ALAKE, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE MINISTRY SOLID MINERALS DEVELOPMENT’S REVISED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (CDA) GUIDELINES AT BARCELONA HOTEL WUSE II, ABUJA
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I consider it a great honour and special privilege to be in your midst this morning for this important occasion of the Launch of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development’s Revised Community Development Agreement (CDA) Guidelines.
2. As you are aware, Mining projects have the potential to impact the Communities in which they are domiciled positively and negatively. While the positive effects are desirable, the negative ones are often met with incessant complaints and sometimes resistance which may lead to forceful closure or suspension of activities in the mines.
3. With the Communities becoming more aware and vocal with regard to their socio-economic benefits from mining companies, their expectations for immediate and future benefits have increased. Also the mining companies are now more concerned about the need and means by which to obtain and sustain their social licenses to operate as well as for community support. Therefore, the Community Development Agreements (CDAs) are increasingly being used by mining companies as a means to better define their relationships and obligations with their host Communities. It readily provides a means of strengthening and advancing their relationship. The general visions of a Community Development Agreement (CDA), therefore, are:
(a) To improve the relationships between the Companies, their host Communities, the Governments, the civil societies and other stake holders; and
(b) to promote sustainable and mutually rewarding benefits from mining projects to the host communities.
4. CDAs in the Mining sector is to ensure that the Mining Communities are carried along by the Mining Operators, that is why Federal Government thought it wise to enshrine Community Development Agreement in the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA), 2007. Section 116 (1) of NMMA, 2007 makes Community Development Agreement between the Mineral Title Holders and the Mining Communities mandatory. The Section stipulates under relevant sub-section as follows:
