EABW CORRESPONDENT

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI - The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) has recommended that six tools be acted on to harmonise the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the region.

Ministers and representatives from the 10 member states of the ICGLR sitting in Bujumbura last week unanimously adopted the six tools of the regional initiative for consideration and adoption by a Special Summit that will sit on November 19 in Kinshasa.

The six tools are namely; certification, harmonisation of legislation/domestication of the protocol, database, formalization of the Extractive Industries Initiative (EITI) and whistle blowing.

"The meeting made recommendations to member states in which the exploitation of minerals would be harmonised and controlled for the benefit of all the states and especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," said Ms Dorine, the communications officer of ICGLR.

Officials in ICGLR said there was an initiative underway to aid the informal trade in all kinds of commodities in the Great Lakes region to provide security and formalisation of trade in order to be able to control it. A press statement said the ICGLR Secretariat and its partners will proceed with the development of the six tools with a view to ensure their optimal effectiveness in the Member States.