Supporting the Ministry of Mines (SUMM) Ethiopia

The SUMM Ethiopia Project aligns with three Principles that underpin CIRDI’s approach to public sector reform projects: 1) Development of National Ownership; 2) Partnership and Inclusion; 3) Capacity Development. These three Principles form the basis upon which the SUMM Ethiopia Project is implemented.

1) Development of National Ownership

• Link to National Objectives: CIRDI, in close partnership with the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP), designed the SUMM Project in response to a request by the Government of Ethiopia. The Project team co-designed the Project’s outcomes with the MoMP during inception in order to align these outcomes with the Government of Ethiopia’s national strategies (the GTP II, their commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the African Mining Vision).
• Situational Assessments: In Year 1, SUMM Project staff supported the MoMP in conducting situational and needs assessments across each thematic area and Directorate. These assessments identified a gap which supported the MoMP to design reforms and interventions.
• Local expertise: CIRDI prioritizes the use of local expertise wherever possible. In Ethiopia, MoMP staff are engaged as resource people to support the project beyond their contributions as Ministry staff. The project has also included former MoMP and GSE experts, as well as members of the Ethiopian diaspora. The use of Ethiopian expertise helps ensure that activities are context-specific, development of ownership of the project’s objectives, and enhancement of sustainability.

2) Partnership and Inclusion

• Integrated and iterative planning: The MoMP and GSE jointly designed and implemented the SUMM Project with CIRDI. Each year, a Project Management Unit (PMU) composed of representatives from relevant directorates meet to review the successes of the previous year and to plan for the coming year. The SUMM Project is designed to be implemented over five years in stages as follows:
  • Year 1: Assessment
  • Year 2: Alignment
  • Year 3: Integration
  • Year 4: Operationalization and Institutionalization
  • Year 5: Enhancing and Ensuring Sustainability
  • Year 6: Phase out/Exit Strategy
• Results-Based Management (RBM): CIRDI’s projects that are funded by Global Affairs Canada follow the RBM approach to management. RBM has also been adopted by the MoMP and enables adaptation to changing circumstances. RBM also allows for iterative design plans in order to achieve stated results.
• Inclusion: CIRDI incorporates cross-cutting themes of gender equality, environmental sustainability and governance into all project activities. This ensures that projects are delivered inclusively. Please see Cross-Cutting Themes below.

3) Capacity Development

• Technical assistance: CIRDI’s unique position as within an academic institution (UBC) enables it to be a neutral convener and centre of expertise on natural resources management. Our team connects the MoMP with inter-disciplinary, cross-sectoral experts from government, academia, and NGOs to learn about leading practices and to gain technical advice for management of the sector.
• Strategic Corner of Mines (SCOM): The SCOM is a mechanism for SUMM Project participants to transfer experiences, training, and knowledge gained through conferences, study missions, and exchanges with a larger MoMP audience.
• The comparative approach: CIRDI supports the MoMP to learn about leading practice approaches and experiences from other countries. Benchmarking exercises enable the MoMP to make informed decisions on policies, practices, and frameworks.

Year 1:

• The SUMM Project established a Codification Task Force and provided technical assistance for a comprehensive review of mining sector which involved simplification and consolidation of existing laws and regulations.
• The SUMM Project conducted two assessments in order to evaluate: 1) the current mineral licensing practices and processes; 2) the current cadastre system, technical equipment, and software.

Year 2:

• CIRDI supported the MoMP to benchmark their legal framework and cadastre against other leading practice frameworks and cadastres. The Codification Task Force organized 22 working sessions in order to review and consolidate Ethiopia’s mining sector regulation.
• The MoMP, with CIRDI’s support, initiated the first implementation phases to upgrade their cadastre and an online portal.
• The MoMP, with CIRDI’s support, upgraded the Ministry’s internet capacity in order to provide access to development activities, including international teleconferences and training.

Year 3:

• CIRDI assisted the MoMP to begin development of key strategies on mineral policy, petroleum policy, Artisanal and Small-scale Mining, and gemstones.
• A discussion paper on development of a 25-year Master Plan was developed
• 7-phase cadastre upgrade began implementation that included:
  • A Federal-Regional Consultative Meeting in December 2018, attended by representatives from four regions (Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, SNNP) on the licensing workflow design for licenses granted at each of the federal and regional levels;
  • The attendance of a 12-member core team from the MoMP at a design workshop in Cape Town on decision-making at critical licensing steps;
  • The launch of a regional data-gathering exercise in order to compile the most up-to-date licensing information for each region.
• 10 officials from the Environment and Community Development Directorate (ECDD) enhanced their knowledge on environmental assessment and management through participation in the Foundations of Environmental Assessment course offered by the International Assessment Impact Association (IAIA).
• The completion of an assessment of occupational health and safety (OHS) practices within the Ethiopian mining sector in order to provide recommendations for the development of OHS guidance documents.

Year 4:

• In year 4, the SUMM Project completed the final phase of the Ethiopian National Mining Cadastre (ENMCS). The e-govt portal enables companies to upload annual work plans and reports, self-register and apply for mining and exploration licenses, monitor their pending and upcoming mineral rights-related obligations. Impacts include:
  • Mineral rights holders are conducting nearly all of their business online;
  • The MoMP cadastre team and Regional mining bureaus, involved throughout the ENMCS development process, are now deployed as trainers of trainees;
  • The management dashboard enables the Minister, State ministers and other high-level decision-makers to make informed decisions through providing real-time data on all existing licenses, including financial and employment contributions of the mining sector.
• In collaboration with four students from the UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA), the SUMM project produced a broad comparative analysis of leading practice approaches to ESIA. The research is based on international case studies from Canada, Australia, Tanzania, Ghana, Chile, Peru, and Kenya as it relates to mining-related environmental policies, instruments, and legislation.

Year 1:

• Two key assessments were completed: 1) a review of the organizational structure of the Ministry and Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE); 2) a review of existing coordination mechanisms and protocols between regional and federal levels.
• CIRDI convened a validation dialogue workshop on regional-level sectoral issues, including the cadastre system, organizational structures, legal frameworks, and human resources.
• The SUMM Project established a Gender Equality Working Group (GEWG) and formulated an action plan which included delivering training for its members and regional gender-focal persons.

Year 2:

• The GEWG completed a gender capacity assessment and gender mapping study of the MoMP to understand gender integration challenges, gaps, and opportunities and to recommend future actions.
• CIRDI supported the MoMP and GSE in designing a Mining Excellence Centre (MEC) which will serve as a knowledge and training hub for Federal and Regional-Level officers. With the design agreed upon, CIRDI began the procurement process for the equipment for the centre.
• The SUMM Project’s annual planning session brought Federal and Regional-level governments together to review and validate the SUMM Annual Report and Annual Workplan. CIRDI also supported Federal-Regional Consultation and Planning meetings for the MoMP’s Annual Workplan, attended by over 100 participants.

Year 3:

• CIRDI continued to work with the MoMP on organizational review and reform in Year 3, with results that included:
  • The development of induction-training packages for the MoMP’s new hires and current personnel;
  • The development of the Integrated Civil Service Human Resource Performance and Data Handling System within the Ministry;
  • A review of directorate training programs in order to understand how the trainees have institutionalized their knowledge and skills;
  • The development of a draft  human resources development strategy;
  • The engagement of international and local experts, as well as the Ethiopian Management Institute, to validate, assess, and propose a revised organizational structure.
• CIRDI supported the MoMP to launch a revised Citizen Charter, including the installation of automated kiosks at the Ministry entrance to support navigation and easy access to information.
• The GEWG began to develop gender training modules in order to enhance gender competence within the Ministry.
• The Mining Excellence Centre furniture and IT equipment were procured and installed.

Year 4:

• Ministerial and GSE staff obtained access to online training and certification. By November 2020, trainees are expected to be certified in technical areas related to governance, mineral processing, exploration and geology, health and safety, environment and community, geotechnics and mining.
• The Ministry’s Gender Equality Working Group (GEWG) participated in a mapping study on the status of gender mainstreaming in the Ministry, GSE and the Regions. The GEWG identified strengths and limitations and lessons for future actions.
• A gender training manual was developed on the integration and mainstreaming of gender equality in policy, laws, legal frameworks, strategy, and programs in support of the draft Ethiopian Mineral Sector Gender Strategy Reaching Ethiopia’s 2025-2030 Goals.
• The SUMM Project supported the Ministry in preparing for and attending Mining Indaba (Cape Town, South Africa, February 2020) and Prospective and Developers Association Conference – PDAC (Toronto, Canada, March 2020).

Year 1:

• The MoMP and GSE worked closely with the SUMM Project to define priority focus areas and to improve collection and dissemination of geoscience data. Identified priority focus areas included: geological mapping, geospatial data management and systems, geochemistry, and knowledge management.

• The SUMM Project assisted GSE directors to attend the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto, as a means to connect GSE officials with national-level leading practices for the collection, analysis and dissemination of geosciences data.

Year 2:

• The SUMM Project conducted and validated five needs and capacity assessments in a multi-stakeholder workshop with the MoMP and GSE. Assessments focused on national- and regional-level capacity and included field visits and document reviews. Assessments and recommendations included consideration for:
  • Mineral exploration
  • Material testing and laboratory equipment
  • Geospatial data management
  • Web portal management
  • Analysis and characterization of industrial minerals
• Training conducted in Year 2 included:
  • A Global Mining Overview (geology, mining methods, exploration, and mining finance)
  • Field Geoscience Methods
  • Mine closure training
  • Leading practice in Geospatial Data Management

Year 3:

• Year 3 emphasized delegate participation in natural resource governance international conferences, study missions, and training on the following:
  • Attendance at the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa, which provided the opportunity to benchmark leading geoscience data-gathering practices and to present new achievements in Ethiopian geoscience practices
  • GIS concepts, QGIS and ArcGIS Tools; ArcGIS Servers: Sit Configuration and Administration; ArcGIS portal deployment and; GIS and Remote Sensing for Earth Exploration training
  • Spectrometric methods; gold and precious metal analysis; modern laboratory management; body composition formulation; and gemstone characterization
• The SUMM Project supported the GSE to launch a nationwide data inventory in order to consolidate all geoscience and geospatial data collected and analyzed over the lifetime of the GSE. At the close of Year 3, metadata for several records were recorded and entered into a newly designed database that will be made available to the public and will improve transparency.
• The SUMM Project engaged an international laboratory expert in order to validate the geochemical, mineralogical and geotechnical laboratories at the GSE and to provide recommendations for next steps.

Year 4

• A revamped MoMP website was launched to provide public access to information related to the sector, its potential and its governance. The new website supports the implementation of the GoE and MoMP one-stop-shop policy.

• In preparation for the launch of an Integrated Geoscience Information Management System (GIMS), an inventory of the available geoscience data was completed and linked to the updated national cadastre system. Investors and mining companies are now able to access information, crucial for exploration and mining activities. The Meta Data Catalogue is available online.

•  Four GSE staff members conducted a study mission to Botswana to build capacity around access to the quality geoscience data and to learn about leading integrated Geoscience Information Management components and practices.

Year 1:

• Year 1 saw the establishment of the SUMM Project office, systems and tools. The SUMM Project office is located within the MoMP building, which facilitates a strong relationship and enables the SUMM Project team to be responsive to Ministry partners.
• CIRDI held training workshops on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and RBM to enhance knowledge of MoMP, GSE and other SUMM Project partners. These training workshops enabled the SUMM Project to conduct results-monitoring and enabled the MoMP to define and report on indicators that are related to Ethiopia’s GTP II.

Year 2:

• Building on the M&E and RBM training in Year 1, CIRDI supported the MoMP to map international mining and development indices (the Resource Governance Index, Responsible Mining Index, and Sustainable Development Goals) and to evaluate Ethiopia’s ranking and competitiveness.
• The MoMP subsequently designed a Mining Scorecard whose key indicators assessed the mining sector’s contribution across several thematic areas.
• The SUMM Project team also initiated data gathering and mapping exercises in order to determine how to compile data into a standard format for contribution to the Mining Scorecard.

Year 3:

• The SUMM Project developed a Mineral Policy draft, which was supported by Year 2 efforts to benchmark the rank and competitiveness of Ethiopia’s mining sector on international indices.
• The SUMM Project supported the organization of consultative meetings to inform decision-making on three key policies: 1) Mineral Policy; 2) Petroleum Policy and; 3) Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Policy.
• CIRDI supported the MoMP to develop their Annual Plan and to complete the Mining Scorecard through regional consultative meetings and launching performance reporting requirements.

Year 4:

• In collaboration with a local task force, the SUMM team supported the Ministry in finalizing a ten-year strategic plan roadmap through benchmarking leading practices, collecting relevant supporting data, and facilitating various stakeholder consultations.

• The SUMM project provided support for the development of the National Artisanal, Special and Small-Scale Mining Strategy with the Ministry ASM taskforce through the review and benchmarking of international leading practices in ASM formalization, defining the strategy’s vision, objectives and thematic areas, conducting multi-stakeholder discussions and developing a detailed roadmap.