The African Federation of Miners and Mineral Wealth (AFMMW) has resolved to establish its own investment company, aimed at transforming Africa’s mineral wealth into tangible benefits.
This groundbreaking decision, made at the Federation’s second Executive Board Meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, marks a pivotal shift in how African mining unions intend to engage with the continent’s vast natural resources.
The AFMMW, a powerful umbrella body encompassing major mining trade unions across Africa, including Ghana’s Mineworkers’ Union, was founded on February 27, 2024, in Cairo, Egypt.
Its core objective is to unite African mineworkers to ensure the continent’s mineral resources primarily benefit its own citizens.
“We cannot take the backstage anymore” was the resounding sentiment from the Lusaka meeting, reflecting a growing determination to break the long-standing paradox of Africa being resource-rich yet remaining the world’s poorest continent.
This paradox is well-documented, with studies consistently showing that despite holding approximately 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, many African nations struggle with poverty, inequality, and limited industrialisation due to the raw export of resources and inadequate value addition.
The newly resolved investment company will focus on identifying and developing mining assets across Africa, allowing the Federation and its members to directly participate in and gain from the entire mineral value chain.
This strategic move aims to lead a “crusade towards changing this longstanding narrative by transforming Africa and its people through the use of its natural resources.”
Beyond investment, the Lusaka meeting emphasised an aggressive membership recruitment drive to unite all mining unions in Africa under the Federation’s banner.
This ambitious goal seeks to create a formidable force capable of advocating, protecting, and promoting the rights of mineworkers and trade unions across the continent.
The Federation committed to working closely with its member unions to:
- Eliminate precarity in the world of work, addressing issues like casualisation and precarious employment, which often undermine workers’ rights and benefits in the extractive sector.
- Promote occupational health and safety, a critical concern in mining where hazardous conditions frequently lead to accidents, injuries, and long-term health issues for workers.
- Promote decent work standards at both national and continental levels, ensuring fair wages, social protection, and fundamental rights for all mineworkers.
The AFMMW explicitly recognised that its aims and objectives align closely with the African Mining Vision (AMV), a policy framework adopted by the African Union in 2009.
The AMV advocates for a “transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development” across the continent.
To help achieve the AMV’s goals, which are seen as a catalyst for Africa’s industrialisation and transformation, the Federation pledged to forge strong, sustained partnerships and collaborate with African Governments and various Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
These include the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, ECCAS, CEN-SAD, and UMA, among others.
The aim is to ensure the full realisation of the benefits of Africa’s mineral wealth for African people, moving beyond simply exporting raw materials to fostering local processing, value addition, and industrial linkages.
To ensure the long-term sustainability of its vision, the Federation also resolved to continuously strengthen the capacities and deepen solidarity among its Member Unions through initiatives such as exchange programmes, as well as training and education.
This capacity building is vital given the complex challenges faced by mining unions in Africa, including inconsistent labour policies, weak financial positions, and pressure from powerful multinational corporations.
The comprehensive six-point declaration adopted at the Lusaka meeting was officially signed by AFMMW President Joseph Chewe and AFMMW Secretary General Mohamed Ahmed Abdelhalim Ibrahim.
Looking ahead, the next Executive Board meeting of the African Federation of Miners and Mineral Wealth is expected to be hosted by the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union in Accra.
This upcoming meeting will be crucial for concretising the key decisions made in Lusaka, moving the Federation closer to its ambitious goal of ensuring that Africa’s vast mineral resources serve as a true engine for the continent’s inclusive growth and prosperity.
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