Central Africa Republic Diagnostic Trade Integration Study

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Central Africa Republic Diagnostic Trade Integration Study
Client: World Bank
Year Completed: 2007

IBI reviewed CAR’s mining, gas and oil sectors for the post-conflict DTIS, providing recommendations to improve the legal, regulatory and institutional framework. CAR’s diamonds, entirely produced by artisan miners, are the second largest source of employment for the rural population and of government revenues, surpassed only by timber and other forest resources.

IBI’s recommendations focused on legal reform, traceability in the chain of custody, introducing a computerized cadastre on a first-come first-served basis, introducing safeguards to keep out money laundering and conflicts of interest, and improving communications at all levels.

Specifically, the study conducted by IBI consultants included reviews of:

• The resource base;
• Mining law of 2004;
• Taxation of the mining sector, including assessments of export taxes and fees and taxes on mining companies;
• Government revenues from mining;
• Legal and regulatory gaps and anomalies, including:
  • Inadequate legal and administrative procedures for permitting,
  • Lack of standardized agreements,
  • Inappropriate bonding and investment requirements,
  • Inadequate and inappropriate banking law and practice,
  • Inadequate supervision,
  • Centralization of revenues and the lack of feedback to administration,
  • Cooperatives authorized to export directly,
  • Abuses among mining companies and the artisanal marketing chain,
  • Insecurity,

• Diamond mining and marketing, the value chain from artisanal miner to the global market;
• Administration of mining;
• Corruption, governance, and transparency;
• Specific constraints and opportunities for exports;
• SWOT analysis of the mining sector; and,
• Approaches to improving the sector.