Case study: PSAf Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique Project

1. Investigating Extractive Industries (Southern Africa Investigative Journalists Regional conference, 13-15 August 2012, Lusaka, Zambia) Case study: PSAf Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique Project Presented by Vusumuzi Sifile Communications and Knowledge Management Officer Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf) Email: vusa@panos.org.zm Web: www.panos.org.zm Tel: +260-211-263258/+260-974-188-481

2. Overview • Implemented in 2010 to 2012 • Aimed to enhance the ability and capacity of citizens, media, civil society organizations (CSOs) and elected representatives, to make use of evidence-based approaches in engaging with government and non-state actors and institutions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable and effective development policies in Mozambique, with particular focus on the extractive industries sector. • Implementation was done alongside the Global Issues Journalism Fellowships project • Partners to the project included media organizations, CSOs networks, selected Municipal Councils, specialised parliamentary commissions, community radios, traditional authorities and community-based organizations at district level. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

3. Background • Mozambique, like other Southern Africa countries, has over the last few years recorded an increase in investments, especially in the mining sector and also in forestry. • This commercial extraction of resources has seen a lot of poor and marginalised citizens being forced by circumstances to relocate from their settlements, and this has a lot of social and economic implications. • PSAf felt that communication would lead to citizens engagement with the authroties, thus contributing to good governance, through exposing the actions of policy makers, facilitating evaluation and monitoring, raising activism and therefore the level of public debate. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

4. Monitoring Extractive Industries Project • The project focused mostly on strengthening transparency on the country’s extractive industries policies. • Mining sector now has a more a more prominent role in the economy. • Minerals that are currently being exploited include titanium, tantalum, marble, gold, coal, bauxite, granite, limestone and gemstones. • There are also known deposits of pegmatite, platinoids, uranium, bentonite, iron, cobalt, chromium, nickel, copper, granite, fluorite, diatomite, emeralds, tourmaline and apatite. Mozambique has identified reserves of natural gas in commercially exploitable quantities, and further exploration is under way. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

5. Why the project? • Knowledge is power • What role can the ordinary citizen play in ensuring accountability and transparency in the extraction of resources? • How can the media provide a platform for ordinary citizens to demand for accountability and transparency in the extractives sector? • How can the media, communities and other watchdog establishments work together to ensure a more transparent extractives sector? • How can citizens, media, civil society organizations (CSOs) and elected representatives make use of evidence-based approaches in engaging with government and non-state actors and institutions to promote transparent, responsive, accountable and effective development policies in Mozambique, with particular focus on the extractive industries sector. • More mining investment: What are the benefits? What are the implications on communities? • Ownership of resources – land and the minerals underground? PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

6. Objectives • To strengthen citizens demand for transparency on extractive industries policies through evidence-based research approaches • To enhance journalists investigative skills • Increase journalists access to national and international policy makers and experts • To give a voice to the poor on issues of public policy and decision-making processes and the limited accountability of public authorities,in order to improve people’s lives in line with the country’s policies and international conventions for fighting absolute poverty and forstering governance. • To develop the professional journalism skills and capacity of radio and print journalists in Mozambique to scrutinize local and national development issues and global processes, and their impact in Mozambique • To support increased access of Mozambican journalists to the people most affected by development policies in Mozambique. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

7. Approaches • Mainstream media • Community Media • Inter personal approaches • Multilevel stakeholder consultations • Research PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

8. Mainstream and Community Media • The media are an integral part of achieving transparency, public awareness, informed debate and accountability. • Independent and comunity media are strategic sources of information for citizens – including the poor and marginalized populations • The media provides a mechanism for giving citizens voice and holding power holders to account. • Watchdog role – monitoring on government activities and public issues. • However, lack of adequate training and skills (in particular with regard to investigative and “public interest” journalism), restrictive policies, lack of knowledge about governce-related issues and weak relationships with relevant CSOs appeared to stifle the work of investigative journalists. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

9. Mainstream and Community Media • Main component of the project • More than 26 journalists from print and broadcast media supported to undertake field reporting assignments in remote areas of the country on extractive industries related activities. • Evidence based reports highlighting the impact of extractive industries, especially on vulnerable groups • Informed public opinion on the consequences of mega mining projects and clandestine timber cutting and deforestation. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

10. Interpersonal approaches • Radio Listening Clubs • Roundtable discussions • Community meetings • Editors steering committee • Consultative meetings PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

11. Investigative Journalism in the EI Project • Media institutions and individual journalists were identified and capacitated to produce in depth investigative newspaper articles which are adequately researched and evidence-based. • The project provided a fellowships mechanism to support journalists to travel to far flung areas where the extraction of resources was taking place. • Through the investigative stories, the different communities were able to hold government officials accountable to the legal and moral standards of public service • The investigative stories also managed to keep business and professional leaders accountable to society’s expectations of integrity and fairness, particularly when targeting complex domains such as corruption associated with public resources management or organized crime associated with drug or human trafficking. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

12. Outcomes • Evidence of project contribution to improved, in-depth reporting, both by print and broadcast media, s well as live debates on issues around mineral and forest resources exploration and their economic, environmental and social impact. • Increased coverage of community voices in the media, e.g. communities who have been removed from their original homes and resettled in precarious conditions in the Moatize and Matutuine (Tete and Maputo Provinces) • Informed communities becoming more proactive, e.g. on January 10, 2012 more than 500 families blocked both the railway and the nearby main road, in an attempt to prevent the movement of coal along the Sena line from Moatize, in Tete, to the Port of Beira. • PSAf responded to an emergency support call from the media, and sent media teams from Savana and STV, two media institutions who brought the voices of the communities to national and public attention. Both the multinational mining company (Vale, from Brazil) and the Government were forced to come up with plans to respond to communities calls for a more decent resettlement programme. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

13. Outcomes • Community members empowered with knowledge to engage in progressive dialogue with different stakeholders. • its own knowledge • Community develops a graded action plan • Community engages with a hierarchy of Actions • Community engages corporations and mines with factual information and clearly understanding the personality gaps of the corporations, between what the corporation says it actually does and their experience of its actions. • The community learns how to mobilise around campaign issues. • The community learns that horizontal organisation rather than pyramidal structures are more effedctive • The community develops confidrence in its own abilities. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

14. What the project achieved Developing the professional journalism skills and capacity of broadcast and print journalists in Mozambique to scrutinize national development issues and global processes, and their impact in Mozambique. • Mainstream and community media journalists identified and trained on the extractive industries. • Provision of fellowships to enable the journalists to access far flung, remote areas that are affected by extractive industries • Editor mentors engaged to help journalists develop their stories, right up to the publication/broadcast stage. • Increased coverage of extractive industries. In 2011 alone, there were more than 100 media articles on the subject, which was a big increase compared to previous years. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

15. What the project achieved 2. Increased access by Mozambican journalists to national and international policy-makers and experts at international summits. • Journalists supported to cover local and international meetings on key development issues like extractive industries • Editor/mentors supported journalists to gain access to national and local government representatives and other power-holders. • Discussion forums held with representatives of international organizations and embassies based in Maputo as well as experts. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

16. What the project achieved • 3. Increased access of Mozambican journalists to the people most affected by the extractive industries • Supported journalists interaction with people at the local level. • Interaction with local communities enabled the journalists to bring out the voices of the most affected, which enabled them to influence some policy responses. • 31 journalists, among fellows and non-fellows received grants to produce in-depth reporting stories on natural resources management policies, under the supervision of Editor/Mentors and Thematic Specialists. • The grant made significant impact on the ground. Through the grant journalists had opportunity to go to the field and report the reality of those affected by development policies and bring their voices to public. PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

17. Challenges • Inadequate time for journalists in the field, resulting in some cases in their failure to follow up on some issues right up to the end. • Some investigations require that a journalist spends a lot of time in the field, but that also has implications on costs etc. • Secrecy among the different actors PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique

18. Lessons learnt and conclusion • The media has a real potential to play a role in holding the government and other power holders with regards to issues related to extractive industry and climate • The need to develop the capacity of the media in development issues cannot be overemphasized. • Still room to come up with ways of reporting on the extractive industries in a manner that will influence effective policy responses. • There is still a tendency to focus more on events than on issues, which presents a big challenge for investigative journalists to up their game. • There is need for investigative journalists and civil society in Southern Africa to work together to bring out the issues • Networking has proven to be an effective strategy: it has allowed easy and quick information access and sharing, including with CBOs. • Providing financial and logistical support is very important, but not a guarantee of quality media products by itself. • Provision of well-researched background information can help offer a contextual analysis of the issues selected PSAf Case Study: Monitoring Extractive Industries in Mozambique