Transcript Document

Investigating Extractive Industries
(Southern Africa Investigative Journalists Regional conference,
13-15 August 2012, Lusaka, Zambia)
Case study: PSAf Monitoring Extractive Industries in
Mozambique Project
Presented by Vusumuzi Sifile
Communications and Knowledge Management Officer
Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf)
Email: [email protected] Web: www.panos.org.zm
Tel: +260-211-263258/+260-974-188-481
Overview
 Implemented in 2010 to 2012
 Aimed to enhance the ability and capacity of citizens, media, civil society
organizations (CSOs) and elected representatives, to make use of
evidence-based approaches in engaging with government and non-state
actors and institutions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable
and effective development policies in Mozambique, with particular focus
on the extractive industries sector.
 Implementation was done alongside the Global Issues Journalism
Fellowships project
 Partners to the project included media organizations, CSOs networks,
selected Municipal Councils, specialised parliamentary commissions,
community radios, traditional authorities and community-based
organizations at district level.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Background
 Mozambique, like other Southern Africa countries, has over
the last few years recorded an increase in investments,
especially in the mining sector and also in forestry.
 This commercial extraction of resources has seen a lot of
poor and marginalised citizens being forced by
circumstances to relocate from their settlements, and this
has a lot of social and economic implications.
 PSAf felt that communication would lead to citizens
engagement with the authroties, thus contributing to good
governance, through exposing the actions of policy makers,
facilitating evaluation and monitoring, raising activism and
therefore the level of public debate.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Monitoring Extractive Industries Project
 The project focused mostly on strengthening transparency on the
country’s extractive industries policies.
 Mining sector now has a more a more prominent role in the
economy.
 Minerals that are currently being exploited include titanium,
tantalum, marble, gold, coal, bauxite, granite, limestone and
gemstones.
 There are also known deposits of pegmatite, platinoids, uranium,
bentonite, iron, cobalt, chromium, nickel, copper, granite, fluorite,
diatomite, emeralds, tourmaline and apatite. Mozambique has
identified reserves of natural gas in commercially exploitable
quantities, and further exploration is under way.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Why the project?
 Knowledge is power
 What role can the ordinary citizen play in ensuring accountability and
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transparency in the extraction of resources?
How can the media provide a platform for ordinary citizens to demand for
accountability and transparency in the extractives sector?
How can the media, communities and other watchdog establishments work
together to ensure a more transparent extractives sector?
How can citizens, media, civil society organizations (CSOs) and elected
representatives make use of evidence-based approaches in engaging with
government and non-state actors and institutions to promote transparent,
responsive, accountable and effective development policies in Mozambique,
with particular focus on the extractive industries sector.
More mining investment: What are the benefits? What are the implications on
communities?
Ownership of resources – land and the minerals underground?
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Objectives
 To strengthen citizens demand for transparency on extractive
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industries policies through evidence-based research approaches
To enhance journalists investigative skills
Increase journalists access to national and international policy
makers and experts
To give a voice to the poor on issues of public policy and decisionmaking processes and the limited accountability of public
authorities,in order to improve people’s lives in line with the
country’s policies and international conventions for fighting
absolute poverty and forstering governance.
To develop the professional journalism skills and capacity of radio
and print journalists in Mozambique to scrutinize local and
national development issues and global processes, and their
impact in Mozambique
To support increased access of Mozambican journalists to the
people most affected by development policies in Mozambique.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Approaches
 Mainstream media
 Community Media
 Inter personal approaches
 Multilevel stakeholder consultations
 Research
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Mainstream and Community Media
 The media are an integral part of achieving transparency,
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public awareness, informed debate and accountability.
Independent and comunity media are strategic sources of
information for citizens – including the poor and
marginalized populations
The media provides a mechanism for giving citizens voice
and holding power holders to account.
Watchdog role – monitoring on government activities and
public issues.
However, lack of adequate training and skills (in particular
with regard to investigative and “public interest”
journalism), restrictive policies, lack of knowledge about
governce-related issues and weak relationships with relevant
CSOs appeared to stifle the work of investigative journalists.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Mainstream and Community Media
 Main component of the project
 More than 26 journalists from print
and broadcast media supported to
undertake field reporting assignments
in remote areas of the country on
extractive industries related activities.
 Evidence based reports highlighting
the impact of extractive industries,
especially on vulnerable groups
 Informed public opinion on the
consequences of mega mining
projects and clandestine timber
cutting and deforestation.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Interpersonal approaches
 Radio Listening Clubs
 Roundtable discussions
 Community meetings
 Editors steering
committee
 Consultative meetings
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Investigative Journalism in the EI Project
 Media institutions and individual journalists were identified and
capacitated to produce in depth investigative newspaper articles
which are adequately researched and evidence-based.
 The project provided a fellowships mechanism to support
journalists to travel to far flung areas where the extraction of
resources was taking place.
 Through the investigative stories, the different communities were
able to hold government officials accountable to the legal and
moral standards of public service
 The investigative stories also managed to keep business and
professional leaders accountable to society’s expectations of
integrity and fairness, particularly when targeting complex
domains such as corruption associated with public resources
management or organized crime associated with drug or human
trafficking.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Outcomes
 Evidence of project contribution to improved, in-depth reporting, both by
print and broadcast media, s well as live debates on issues around
mineral and forest resources exploration and their economic,
environmental and social impact.
 Increased coverage of community voices in the media, e.g. communities
who have been removed from their original homes and resettled in
precarious conditions in the Moatize and Matutuine (Tete and Maputo
Provinces)
 Informed communities becoming more proactive, e.g. on January 10,
2012 more than 500 families blocked both the railway and the nearby
main road, in an attempt to prevent the movement of coal along the Sena
line from Moatize, in Tete, to the Port of Beira.
 PSAf responded to an emergency support call from the media, and sent
media teams from Savana and STV, two media institutions who brought
the voices of the communities to national and public attention. Both the
multinational mining company (Vale, from Brazil) and the Government
were forced to come up with plans to respond to communities calls for a
more decent resettlement programme.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Outcomes
 Community members empowered with knowledge to engage
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in progressive dialogue with different stakeholders.
its own knowledge
Community develops a graded action plan
Community engages with a hierarchy of Actions
Community engages corporations and mines with factual
information and clearly understanding the personality gaps
of the corporations, between what the corporation says it
actually does and their experience of its actions.
The community learns how to mobilise around campaign
issues.
The community learns that horizontal organisation rather
than pyramidal structures are more effedctive
The community develops confidrence in its own abilities.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
What the project achieved
Developing the professional journalism skills and
capacity of broadcast and print journalists in
Mozambique to scrutinize national development
issues and global processes, and their impact in
Mozambique.
 Mainstream and community media journalists identified
and trained on the extractive industries.
 Provision of fellowships to enable the journalists to access
far flung, remote areas that are affected by extractive
industries
 Editor mentors engaged to help journalists develop their
stories, right up to the publication/broadcast stage.
 Increased coverage of extractive industries. In 2011 alone,
there were more than 100 media articles on the subject,
which was a big increase compared to previous years.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
What the project achieved
2. Increased access by Mozambican journalists
to national and international policy-makers and
experts at international summits.
 Journalists supported to cover local and international
meetings on key development issues like extractive
industries
 Editor/mentors supported journalists to gain access to
national and local government representatives and
other power-holders.
 Discussion forums held with representatives of
international organizations and embassies based in
Maputo as well as experts.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
What the project achieved
 3. Increased access of Mozambican journalists to
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the people most affected by the extractive
industries
Supported journalists interaction with people at the local
level.
Interaction with local communities enabled the journalists
to bring out the voices of the most affected, which enabled
them to influence some policy responses.
31 journalists, among fellows and non-fellows received
grants to produce in-depth reporting stories on natural
resources management policies, under the supervision of
Editor/Mentors and Thematic Specialists.
The grant made significant impact on the ground. Through
the grant journalists had opportunity to go to the field and
report the reality of those affected by development policies
and bring their voices to public.
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Challenges
 Inadequate time for journalists in the field,
resulting in some cases in their failure to follow up
on some issues right up to the end.
 Some investigations require that a journalist spends
a lot of time in the field, but that also has
implications on costs etc.
 Secrecy among the different actors
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique
Lessons learnt and conclusion
 The media has a real potential to play a role in holding the government and other
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power holders with regards to issues related to extractive industry and climate
The need to develop the capacity of the media in development issues cannot be
overemphasized.
Still room to come up with ways of reporting on the extractive industries in a
manner that will influence effective policy responses.
There is still a tendency to focus more on events than on issues, which presents a
big challenge for investigative journalists to up their game.
There is need for investigative journalists and civil society in Southern Africa to
work together to bring out the issues
Networking has proven to be an effective strategy: it has allowed easy and quick
information access and sharing, including with CBOs.
Providing financial and logistical support is very important, but not a guarantee
of quality media products by itself.
Provision of well-researched background information can help offer a contextual
analysis of the issues selected
PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique