By Sallieu S. Kanu
Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Umaru Napoleon Koroma has distinguished himself as a veritable global advocate for fair and progressive mining policies across the globe. The last two weeks have been hectic and inspiring for the Deputy Minister who was earlier in Dubai to lead his peers at a meeting of the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) which successfully advocated lifting the ban on the Central African Republic to export its rough diamonds.
After a decade-long war, lifting the ban from the Kimberley Process – a diamond certification scheme – would automatically allow the diamond-rich nation’s government to take control over the export of its precious minerals.
Speaking to this medium from Dubai, Mr Umaru Napoleon Koroma who chaired the meeting that led to a plenary session said the group was unanimous in its stance to have the Central African Republic (CAR) back into the diamond certification scheme because the civil conflict that necessitated the ban has long ended, and that the country was declared peaceful by a special observation team commissioned by ADPA.
The group was also united against a bid by Western countries to have Russia (the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds) banned from the Kimberley process as a result of its invasion of Ukraine because the invasion was largely political and had no bearing on the Kimberley process.
Deputy Minister Umaru Napoleon Koroma left Dubai for Geneva, Switzerland where he led a Sierra Leonean delegation from the National Minerals Agency (NMA) to attend the 20th Annual General Meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development.
According to Napoleon Koroma, the event’s theme, “Redefining Mining, Balancing the need for minerals and protecting the planet”, is in alignment with the government’s mining policy under President Julius Maada Bio, adding that mineral value addition remains critical in ensuring that citizens of countries benefit from the exploitation of their God-given resources.
“This call is in line with the goals of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, as President Bio has consistently emphasized the importance of leveraging our minerals for development. The focus of this year’s AGM is on sustainable mining methods that can protect the environment while extracting minerals. Significant investment is required for this endeavor, and we hope that countries seeking Africa’s critical minerals will heed this call if they truly aim to develop these mineral-producing states,” he said.
On the margins of the IGF, Koroma also participated in a Commonwealth high-level round table where he brilliantly posited Sierra Leone’s perspective on critical mineral matters as the Commonwealth is aiming to develop a handbook that could guide governments in managing their mineral resources .
By the time he returns home over the weekend, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources would be welcoming a delegation of Twenty Indian Investors who are visiting Sierra Leone to explore viable investment opportunities. This pending visit by some of the richest business tycoons was the outcome of another recent engagement in the Asian country where he showcased Sierra Leone’s untapped mineral potentials.