The establishment of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SDMF) was greeted with excitement and jubilation as stakeholders said it was what was needed to galvanise activities in the sector and position it as a major foreign exchange earner for the country. But almost six months down the line, the fund has remained so in name. Ruth Tene Natsa in this piece examines the issue
Despite of the enormous endowment of the country, activities in the sector are still at the lowest ebb as a result of the identified factors.
The establishment of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SDMF) in the second quarter of 2013, therefore, was a big relief which was well received.
The fact that miners in the country and other stakeholders have alternative source of funding raised the hope of a turnaround of the sector. The enthusiasm that greeted the establishment of the fund was such that not many realised that no specific amount was allocated to it.
A source who spoke to LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity said, “the Ministry of Finance, having received the demands of the board after much haggling, cut down the request of about N250 million to N100 million to start operation of the fund, but even with that, not a dime of the N100 million has been released.”
It should be noted that the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Musa Mohammed Sada, at the inauguration of the board for the fund in Abuja, said, “the fund by Section 37 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 consists of any sums appropriated for solid minerals development under the revenue act or any federal law, any sums appropriated for solid minerals development under the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS).”
Others, he said included funds received as grants, donations, foreign loans, bonds and long term swaps as well as any sums appropriated to it by the federal government.
He said the establishment of the fund underscored President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment towards the rapid development of the sector as enunciated in the transformation agenda of the government and also a response to the job creation mandate of the ministry as well as the economic diversification policy. He reaffirmed that the sector had the capacity to complement oil revenue and contribute substantially to the overall economic development of the nation.
The minister said the establishment of the fund was aimed at supporting the ministry’s policy framework to develop the sector and provide necessary administrative management in the development of both human and physical capacity in the sector, funding for geo-scientific data gathering, storage and retrieval to meet needs of private sector-led mining industry.
He gave other functions of the fund to include equipping the mining institutions to enable them perform their statutory functions, providing funds for extension services to small scale and artisanal mining operators as well as providing infrastructure in mines land.
Sada assured that the establishment of the fund was in line with the sustained efforts to open up the sector for rapid development and in consonance with the dictates of section 34 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and its regulations which provide for the establishment of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF).
Speaking in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP, the special assistant to the minister and secretary to the board, Mahe Shehu Ahmed, said there was a lot they looked forward to achieving with the composition of membership of the board in a bid to move the sector forward.
He said among several challenges facing the sector, the issue of formalising illegal miners and giving them extension services so that they could practice mining in a safe and profitable manner was one he and other members were looking forwards to addressing as soon as they could.
The president of Miners Association of Nigeria and a member of the board, Alhaji Sanni Shehu, expressed optimism that with the support of government and all stakeholders, the solid minerals sector would soon be transformed.
If the federal government is actually serious about the diversification of the economy, it should go beyond rhetorics and pursue the development of the solid minerals sector as it holds a great promise for the country’s economic transformation. The SMDF should be allocated funds and made operational without further delay. The time to do so is now.-Leadership
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