Abuja – The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said that the government is evolving measures to build the confidence of investors in the mining sector.
Speaking at the 10th Annual Business Law Conference organised by the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law in Abuja on Friday, Fayemi said the ministry was working at building the confidence of investors in the mining sector.
“One of the most difficult challenges that this sector faces is that Nigeria is not seen as a mining destination.
“When you talk to investors, they see Nigeria primarily as an oil and gas destination and as a result, they don’t even pay much attention to what obtains in the mining sector,” he said.
He said that the challenge of perception was not going to be addressed just by growing interest in the sector, but by the legal and regulatory enforcement of the relevant laws.
The minister said that the failure to enforce the laws governing the sector was a major challenge the ministry was addressing.
“One of the gaps that we have with laws in the sector is actually enforcement and this is giving the ministry a bad image.
“I receive letters from lawyers on behalf of clients complaining particularly about the licensing regime.
“The licensing area is one that we are clearly trying to do a lot of work on.”
Fayemi said that the ministry planned to set up zonal offices of the mining cadastral licensing regime.
This, he said, was to allow the zones have some input in the licensing process, saying, however, that allowing the states to issue mining licenses would create chaos in the industry.
He pointed out that mining was not a quick-win sector where results could be achieved immediately.
“We have to really come to terms with this; it is a long term sector that requires a lot of investments and you will not get immediate results.”
He, however, said that the ministry would take a critical look at the issues on ground and fast track areas of importance.
The minister expressed concern that the sector did not attract funding, saying that it was working with the banks to get them more interested in the sector.
He said he was also engaging the governors to boost the sector.
The minister said that the ministry was developing a bankable database to attract potential investors.
“It is true that we do not have the bankable information that is required in the industry; it will take a minimum of 18 months to get a serious bankable data.
“What we are doing as a government, even though we know it is mostly private sector driven and financed, is putting resources into data,” he said.
Earlier, a panelist at the conference, Ms Nere Teriba, had decried the lack of a dependable database in the mining sector in Nigeria.
Teriba, a mining consultant, attributed the lack of investor’s interest in the country’s mining sector to lack of data on the minerals available.
“If there is data, investors will come because if they see the numbers and the numbers make sense to them, they will invest,” she said.
She also stressed the need for the communities with the mineral resources to understand the mining laws as well as pick interest in mining.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference has as its theme: “Law Reform and Economic Develpoment.”
It is meant for regulators, lawyers and business executives to dialogue on policies and regulations that shape economic growth. (NAN)