This article first appeared in the April-June 2013 Edition of Around Africa
“The Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA) is a joint initiative among governments, companies, and civil society to support supply chain solutions to conflict minerals challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of Central Africa. Leaders worldwide are calling for action to address conflict mineral concerns while delivering solutions that benefit those involved in responsible minerals trade in the Great Lakes Region. The PPA aims to demonstrate that it is possible to secure legitimate, conflict-free minerals from the Great Lakes Region.”
Members are: US Government Agencies, companies, industries, company associations and other organizations. PPA is an alliance for the development of fully traced and validated mineral supply chain routes, in particular tin, tantalum, tungsten , and gold, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the Great Lakes Region in general.
AFJN’s role as a member of the PPA under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to provide input and advice to the alliance concerning the current situation in the Great Lakes Region, participate in meetings to review implementation, and evaluate progress toward reaching the alliance’s goals. Other roles include taking part in decision making, design of the work plan and providing and a nalyzing input from local communities to ensure projects are addressing people’s needs and not causing undue harm.
