Chief Minister KP, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has directed the concerned authorities to formulate a new mining policy and introduce rudimentary reforms in the mining sector to align it on modern lines and ensure the effective use of mineral resources to enhance the revenue of the province.
The Chief Minister directed the high-ups of the concerned department to complete homework on the establishment of a government-owned Mining Company, introduce mechanical mining, and E-bidding system for the issuance of mineral leases. He further asked for shifting the colossal paperwork and clerical register to a paperless system of the Mineral Department.The Country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular is blessed with precious minerals and hidden deposits throughout its territory. These minerals include precious metals including gold, lead, zinc, copper, rock phosphate, rock salt, marble, and multiple kinds of gemstones, etc. The KP Mineral Development Department was formed in the early 70s to play the role of custodian of the mineral resources spread over large swathes of almost all districts across the province.
The KP Mineral Department could not perform well because of institutional corruption, lack of policy framework, and an effective system of bidding and monitoring of the exploitation process of precious products. Historically, the Bureaucracy run KP Mineral Department failed in the proper management of mining activities, exploration of hidden deposits, and attraction of investment from home and abroad due to ineffective mining concessions, weak regulation, and poor enforcement of mining lease agreements. Meanwhile, the leaseholders and private contractors have always colluded with bureaucracy and got lucrative mining contracts on nominal prices while not paying back the due share to the government.
Resultantly, industry best practices have not been introduced and meaningful investment in technology and expertise could not be made in the past.Although Pakistan is endowed with extensive geological potential unlike other developing countries, it has not yet been able to promote growth and alleviate poverty by exploiting its natural resources to the optimum level. The country’s mining industry is dominated by the public sector and there has been little or no modern exploration with the benefit of large-scale private sector investment and foreign investors with modern management, capital, and technical expertise. Wherein, the bureaucracy neither has the vision nor ability to exploit those opportunities in the best interest of the country. Previously, the KP government has introduced multiple legislations in the mining sector including the KP Mineral Policy, KP Mineral Sector Governance Act 2017, and KP Mineral Governance Rules- 2018 which need to align with global standards along with the introduction of moderate mining policies and stringent monitoring and oversight mechanisms. That promotes transparency, increases production, and boosts revenue for the government.
The KP government has also launched the Mining Cadastre Portal which provides an e-Government platform for stakeholders in the mineral sector to engage directly with the Minerals Development Department. The idea of constituting a state-owned mining company would be a waste of resources rather the government should strengthen its monitory and oversight role. The fresh KP government has picked up an important sector of the provincial economy that could make a miracle if provincial authorities succeed in formulating an investment-friendly policy, restoring investors’ trust together with providing an investor-friendly environment which is crucial to untapped hidden reserves and generating revenue from that activity. The provincial government should also focus on other avenues including hydropower generation, agriculture, livestock, poultry, and forestry to expand the provincial economy and benefit the public from local resources.
