(Being Excerpts Of An Interview He Granted
CRTV's 'Cameroon
Calling' Recently)
Ntumfor can you explain the Legal Requirements for
Obtaining a Mining Permit In Cameroon?
The mining sector in Cameroon is
regulated by law No.2001 of 16 April 2001. It controls and defines the
activities within the mining domain. This law opts out of the 1964 Mosaic
(anachronistic) laws, which were very unfriendly to investors.
The new law is extremely
generous and business friendly to all investors without discrimination.
The legal requirement to obtain
a mining permit can be called a license are very simple. To get to that anyone
must create a mining company. Once that is done, whether a national or
foreigner, you must show proof of sufficient funds and expertise in the mining
domain.
What happens is that you apply
to the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development for
exploitation. Within 3 years, if you are lucky to discover the deposits, then
of course, you apply to the Minister for what is called, a convention to do
thorough exploitation. It doesn’t mean you are already exploiting.
When the Minister would have
thoroughly studied your file (dossier), the Minister would then authorize you
to go ahead and carry out the studies.
When you are lucky to find the
deposit, you will now introduce a formal letter (a complete dossier),
indicating that you have found deposits and that you have the financial
backing, a team of experts that would accompany you in this project.
The Minister would study it
with his staff and they would make sure that all the required documents are
included in the file. Once everything is in order, the Minister would thereon
do a recommendation, which would be sent to the President of the Republic, who
definitely would engage his services to verify whether the file (dossier) that
has been submitted before him for signature is in order. Then he would
authorize to you the license or the permit.
This time, we are not talking
about exploration but of exploitation. In sum, this is what it takes to obtain
a permit or license to carry out mining in Cameroon.
How does the law protect investors of the mining
sector?
The 1964 law that was not very
friendly has been set aside and that of 2001, which is so friendly has made it
possible for investors to have a clear mind, in the venture that they are
getting into. There is clarity, unlike in the past where it was a kind of a
very hidden issue (you might not know when it is issued and to who and by
whom). It was some shady kind of transaction. But the 2001 law is quite very
clear and encouraging.
The mining code also is so
generous and friendly. The validity of the permit for feasibility studies is
one year, renewable over a land area of 10.000km2
Prospecting permits are valid
for an initial period of 3 years renewable.
Mining code guarantees
transferability of mining titles. Holders of any mining titles in Cameroon are
free to deal in their rights through assignments, transfer, security or pledge
but should respect the law.
Mining code guarantees physical
and legal stability. No discrimination between local and foreign investors.
Equality is the rule here.
The liberty to acquire and to
dispose of property and of course to hire workers as well as service providers.
There is transparency and
accountability and competition and economic growth.
The mining area is so
lucrative: there are so many people coming from all over because Cameroon is
blessed with lots of mining deposits.
What is role of lawyers in enforcing these
protections?
Lawyers are watchdogs of the
role of law in the mining domain like in others. A lawyer ensures that the
rules of the game are applied. He makes sure that there is justice, equity. We
counsel various investors, be they nationals or foreigners, in their right
procedure.
Those who meet me are told what
to do and what not to do. In order that their investments and their project be
protected, they must abide by the law. We advise them on their rights and
obligations in this sector. They must make sure that their taxes and royalties
are paid, respect the labour code and pay their workers promptly.
There is cooperate social
responsibility. This has to do with improvement of the environment where they
are mining. Beyond, they should provide leisure facilities, schools, health
facilities and other facilities good for the people.
The lawyers also review the
memorandum of understanding, conventions, permits, licenses to ensure compliance
to the 2001 law.
We lawyers also advise
investors on their obligations vis-à-vis the National Social Insurance Fund
department.
We defend investors when they
are unduly harassed or prosecuted.
What contributions can the mining sector make to the
economy or the development of Cameroon?
Quite much! This is a sector, a
domain that generates a lot of revenue. If the revenue is properly managed, it
will be good.
So the law of 16 April 2001
regulating the mining activities aims at transforming the immense human and
natural resources for the good of the Cameroonian people. Revenue from taxes
would go for infrastructural development; provision of social amenities,
poverty reduction, employment, moral decadence and juvenile delinquency can be
curbed when the youths are employed.
Let me insist on the corporate,
social responsibility which most companies have no regard for. This is an area
where companies must make sure that some of the profits they make should go to
provide amenities/facilities to the people around the mining area.
There should be redistribution
of revenue from the mining sector, not because some mineral deposits are found
in one area, which only people of that area should benefit from the royalties:
in fact, it is for the whole nation. There should be equitable distribution and
of course reinforcement of vigilance against corruption.
Where there is corruption, you
should be sure that some of the money/revenue that is supposed to be used for
the development of the people would be siphoned.
There should be the foreign
corrupt practices act to be implemented and the laws sanctioning defaulters in
this area.
Are there any sanctions for people involved in
illegal mining?
The law does not really mention
of many sanctions as such. But any person who violates a law is brought to
book. In this case, the government could slam exemplary sanctions or penalties
on people who are illegally carrying out mining. Of course, the licenses of
those who are involved in illegal mining could be withdrawn. Legal actions for
damages could also be instituted.
These amongst others are some
of the sanctions that could be meted on those involved in illegal mining.
* (Barrister Ntumfor
Nico Halle is a Corporate Lawyer based in Douala)
Role Model
Ndzerem Stephen Njokzeka:
Transforming Lives and Bridging Frontiers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had
this to say about great men: “Lives of
great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime , and, departing, leave
behind us, footprints on the sands of time”. His contemporary Thomas Carlyle
complemented Wadsworth
when he said that ‘Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions’. The
name Ndzerem Stephen Njokzeka has become a household name not only among the
hard-to-reach and underserved segments of our population but also within
government circles for his passion not to make or amass wealth for himself but
rather to add value to the value of life. This volunteer worker from very
humble beginnings can be said to have done what Napoleon left undone especially
in the domain of social change and social transformation. When others in his
generation chose the easier way by
electing to go to taxation school or public administration where money comes
and meet them, Ndzerem Stephen chose to become a social worker at the service
of the downtrodden and the disadvantaged members of the community. In doing
this he chose to follow the footsteps of Mother Theresa and Mahamat Ghandi.
Ndzerem Stephen
has toiled labourously for the past two decades to transform lives and build
common frontiers for all segments of society. In doing this, he followed the
principle outlined by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that ‘heights by great men
reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companies
slept, they were toiling upward in the night’. Ndzerem Stephen could have
decided like others to do the simple things, but because he believes like Lance
Armstrong that ‘Greatness is not a measure of how great you are but of how
great others came to be because of you’, he decided to work for the poor and
lowly in our society. Since 1997, he has been animated by the goal of relieving
the pains of the disadvantaged in society. Like Bill Copeland he believes that
‘the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up
and down the field and never score’. Today, he is scoring because of that firm
believe.
In all what he
does, he believes like Harry S. Truman that ‘we must build a world, a far
better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected’. In trying
to build this world of respect and dignity, Ndzerem sees in the handicapped and
in the poor, a people who are not only made in the image of God but people who
are only differently able. His input in the social domain seeks to bring back
human dignity into all of God’s creation.
Unlike many a Cameroon who spend time today asking what Cameroon has
done to him or her, Mr. Ndzerem Stephen rather advise Cameroons like J.F
Kennedy that ‘Ask not what your country has done for you, ask what you can do
for your country’. It is in this light that for quite sometime now, Mr. Ndzerem
Stephen has not only been building classrooms but has been equipping them and
handing them over to the government. He is not only doing this but also helping
the government in reducing unemployment as the number of staff on his payroll
is encouraging. He is one of the few Cameroonians who think it does not take
the masses to change the world. Like Rosa Park, Ndzerem believes that his
actions, though modest they maybe, can change the world. And he is so crazy
about it. The CEO of Apple Computers was certainly referring to people like Mr.
Ndzerem when he declared that ‘people who are crazy enough to think they can
change the world, are the ones who do’. And his is not about having a lot of
resources but rather about using the little that come in to make a big
difference in the lives of the poor and the disabled. Today others think he had
effectively removed the mountain of poverty in the lives of most poor and
disabled persons. Of course, the might have done that but as the Chinese
proverb holds ‘A man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small
stones’. Mr. Ndzerem Stephen started small, and those who know him insist he
has come a long way as he began from very humble beginnings. He only believed
in the beauty of his dreams and had the courage to pursue them as Walt Disney
put it: ‘All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them’.
Ndzerem Stephen has that courage and much more. He is also a man of vision and
action. Vision and action are two cardinal ingredients for success and as the
Japanese proverb hold: ‘vision without action is daydream; Action without
vision is nightmare’. He neither daydreams nor entertains nightmares. This is
because of his zeal to recreate the world and knowing like Abraham Lincoln that
‘the best way to predict the future is to create it’, he put into his vision
the necessary ingredients that make for social change.
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