Workshop on mining policy opens

A workshop to lay down the new policy on mining in the Central African Republic (CAR) opened on Tuesday in the capital, Bangui. The country's leader, Francois Bozize, officially opened the four-day workshop, which is aimed at drafting a policy that would see the government maximising income from the mining sector. Mining Minister Sylvain Ndoutingaye decried diamond smuggling, which he said had cost the country more than 50 percent of the precious stone mined across the nation. Mining activities have been suspended across the country and exploitation licences have been withdrawn from several companies suspected of having a suspicious legal or fiscal situation. Attended by about 300 participants, the workshop is expected to recommend measures the government should take in the establishment of a new mining policy. The participants include local and international mining experts, delegates from mining firms and cooperative associations from the country's 16 provinces. Bozize said he would direct his administration to act quickly on the workshop's proposals. Mining is the second major source of income for the government, after timber.