Established in 1999, AIMES is a Pan-African grouping of civil society organizations from mineral-endowed African countries. Key among AIMES’ objectives is providing a common front for advocates working towards improving the governance of Africa’s mineral economy, ensuring a more equitable and sustainable exploitation and contribution of the mineral sector to Africa’s development. Thus AIMES, has been at the forefront of various African civil society initiatives aimed at optimising the minimal returns that mineral-endowed African countries make from their rich mineral resources. This has involved offering alternate policies through calls for changes in mining codes across the continent, working with institutions such as the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to fashion out a new continental mining framework, the African Mining Vision that demands a mining regime aimed at putting mining at the centre of Africa’s industrial development. AIMES holds annual strategic meetings that are also used for capacity building and solidarity purposes and are hosted by members in turn. Third World Network-Africa hosts the secretariat of AIMES.
In October, 2011, the government of Ghana made a promise that it will increase profit tax paid by mining companies, collect windfall profit tax, and implement a uniform regime for capital allowance of 20% for five years. The government deemed these as some of the steps...