MINISTRY OF MINES KEEPS PROMISE OF TRANSPARENCY;
In an important initiative under its policy of transparency, the Ministry of Mines today published details of eight mining contracts it let to 2009.
Publication of the contracts is in compliance with the commitment Minster Wahidullah Shahrani made to Parliament on Decmeber 2009. Publication also complies with conditions set by the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) and the Government’s commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
The amendments to the Minerals Law now under consideration will go a long way to rationalizing the process used in awarding mining contracts and make investment in the mining industry more attractive to the private sector.
The Ministry of Mines is moving to become an affective regulatory, supervisory, and monitoring authority, which will have capacity and full access to the mines in order to manage the industry in an efficient and transparent manner.
Also publication all the contracts in a regular timetable along with the status of implementation of these contracts would be a clear attempt to ensure the highest degree of transparency in managing Afghanistan’s mineral resources. This will be done by sharing the relevant information with the parliament, the civil society, and other stakeholders.
Details of Past Mining Contracts Published:
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