Good corporate citizenship and
Aussie ‘can do’ in an African setting
Trish O’Reilly
Chief Executive Officer
Australia-Africa Mining Industry Group
As the number of Australian mining companies investing in Africa continues to rise, the complexities of doing business in the
commodity-rich continent remain an ongoing focus for all stakeholders involved. The Australia-Africa Mining Industry Group
(
AAMIG), led by Chief Executive Officer Trish O’Reilly, is the peak industry body representing the collective interests of Australian
mining companies active in Africa. Here, Trish discusses the staggering scale of Australia’s involvement with Africa, and explains
how AAMIG came into being two years ago. She also recounts some of the fascinating topics that the industry group concern
themselves with, including how to balance the differing viewpoints of government and industry on what constitutes normal
business practice. There are a good many areas that the AAMIG and its members must consider.
The fact is that while investment opportunities in developing
countries such as Africa may be readily obvious, the opportunity
for the occurrence of risks associated with social and political
instability, ownership, bribery, corruption and security is high,
and must be addressed proactively through the establishment
of appropriate policies, procedures and forward thinking in
this regard.
Australia’s economic interests in Africa are certainly
substantial, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(
DFAT) calculating the current value of Australian mining
investment in Africa in excess of US$50 billion, across more
than 700 projects in 42 countries. In fact, Australian minerals
and resource companies have more projects in Africa than any
other region outside of Australia – emphasising the industry’s
need for greater diplomatic representation in Africa and stronger
engagement between the Australian government and its
African counterparts.
“
Australian resource companies are world leaders with respect
to technical competency, but few have really mastered the
non-technical risk issues inherent to the African environment.
At best, this lack of preparedness impedes their ability to fully
realise the potential of Africa, but at worst it exposes them to
potentially significant economic and personal liability,” states
Professor Roberts, Curtin University Adjunct Professor and World
Bank Emissary.
Re-engaging with Africa
At the request of the Australian government, AAMIG was
established in early 2011 to represent the collective interests of
small to medium-sized Australian-based mining, exploration,
service and supply companies operating in Africa. Since
its inception, AAMIG has built a membership of more than
120
mining, exploration and service companies, and is successfully
filling a much needed gap in the industry.
AAMIG enables the communal sharing of knowledge, providing
an avenue through which processes and procedures can be put
in place to address risks before they become problems. Members
have access to guiding documentation and analysis tools designed
specifically for conducting best practice operations in Africa,
and can measure their performance while being part of an active
network of peers that are going through the same experience.
A voice for the industry
AAMIG is a much needed industry representative group, and has
made a number of submissions to government on behalf of its
members, including specific country briefs and representation on
critical legislative matters. One example is AAMIG’s submission
of a discussion paper briefing Australia’s political leaders against
implementing changes to anti-corruption and bribery laws that
would see facilitation payments – small sums paid to obtain
routine government services – illegal and punishable by fines and
jail sentences.
The paper argued that removal would be a naïve approach to
the issue of bribery in Africa, and such payments are made for
routine services that businesses are entitled to. AAMIG’s concern
is that the transparency associated with the facilitation payments
will be lost if these payments are criminalised, and either people
Biggervisions
Market garden in Dassa District, Burkina Faso
Project supported by Middle Island Resources
Minesite 2013
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