OREANDA-NEWS. October 02, 2015. Otsile Matlou, Natural Resource Expert from ENSafrica, makes a presentation during a capacity building training convened by the ALSF in Kampala, Uganda. The workshop entitled ‘Keys to Successfully Negotiating Mining Agreements’ runs from September 28 to October 2.

The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) in the collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum officially launched a five-day training programme on Monday for senior government officials and members of the private sector in Kampala.

Participating in the seminar are 30 senior representatives of State Ministries and other institutions involved in the negotiation of mining agreements. 

The training, which runs from September 28 to October 2, 2015 on the sidelines of the 4th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference, is focused on strengthening participants’ capacity with regards to the institutional, legal, contractual and financial aspects of mining agreements. Topics to be covered include: understanding mineral rights, land access and mine development; environmental & social issues; regulatory impact assessments; the anatomy of mining agreements; and the negotiation of mining agreements.

The capacity building programme aligns with the ALSF’s mandate to build legal capacity in Africa. The training programme is supporting development programmes outlined in Uganda’s Vision 2040 plan that recognises the need to build the human resources necessary for the country to build a strong mining industry.

The mutual objective of the ALSF and the Government of Uganda is to ensure government officials are sufficiently trained to effectively undertake the many ongoing and future negotiation of mining agreements envisioned in Uganda’s development agenda.

The ALSF is an international public institution, hosted by the African Development Bank Group. Its mandate is to support African states by providing legal advisory services for vulture fund litigation and negotiating complex commercial transactions.