Governments in Africa are increasing local content regulations on mining that encourage or require local procurement of goods and services by investing companies. However, not all types of ‘local’ procurement are the same. Policies that support local production of goods rather than simply reselling imported goods, for example, create far more economic and social benefits. Currently, most governments’ local procurement regulations do not adequately take this into account, and few companies give a breakdown of their local procurement spending to help host countries target the most beneficial supplier opportunities. This policy insight overviews current information sharing on local procurement from mining companies, shows increasing requests for this type of information in sustainability standards and governance frameworks, and gives examples of governments and companies beginning to be more sophisticated in their collection and reporting of data.
