Participação da sociedade civil na formulação e implementação de políticas públicas no sector da indústria extractiva em Moçambique (2009-2022)

Abstract

One of the sectors in which the work of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is most necessary and challenging is the Extractive Industry in Mozambique, which comprises natural resource exploitation activities. The extractive sector is strategic for the national economy, but it also generates significant social and environmental impacts, such as conflicts, human rights violations and pollution, among others. CSO participation in the drafting of public policies governing the sector is essential to ensure that the interests and demands of affected communities are considered and met, and that the benefits and costs of extractive activity are distributed in a transparent and accountable manner. However, little is known about how this participation takes place in practice, what mechanisms, actors, spaces, processes and results are involved. This study therefore describes and examines data on perceptions of the role, participation and challenges that CSOs face in trying to influence policy-making in this sector. The qualitative technique was employed in data collection and interviewees were intentionally selected and targeted with specific questions. The theory of historical Neo-institutionalism and the Systemic approach to policy design were essential to understanding the phenomenon under study. The conclusions reveal that, on the one hand, the historical trajectory (historical legacy) of the process of building the Mozambican state has influenced the emergence and emancipation of CSOs, and on the other hand, that the participation of these bodies in the process of formulating and implementing policies, through the spaces created, is challenged by the existence of factors such as: the closure of authorities and public bodies in relation to CSOs, intimidation and reprisals, secrecy and co-optation of CSO leaders, in addition to the spaces being considered forums that are politically monopolised by the ruling party. In general, the instrumentalisation of formal spaces for participation is an extension of the patrimonialist vision of the state, challenging the role of CSOs in the policy-making process governing the extractive sector