Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA)

Deadline: 4 June 2021

Background

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is a public interest environmental law organization working on the promotion of environmental justice in Southern Africa through sustainable and equitable utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. In conducting its work in the extractives industries, ZELA believes in a people-driven and people-centred approach to mining taxation to achieve optimal utilization of mineral resources for sustainable socio-economic development. As part of its strategies ZELA empowers mining-affected communities and civil society organizations to pro-actively advocate for solutions to be applied to the problem of ineffective revenue/tax collection and regimes in the mining sector by governments in Southern Africa as well as persistent revenue leakages at public procurement level.

The COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare deep-seated inequalities across several key domains of life, including education, employment and ability to earn, family life and health. Moreover, it seems likely that the current crisis will leave legacies that will impact inequalities in the long term. To address deepening social and economic inequalities it is really fundamental the mining corporations pay a fair share of taxes. Work on extractive taxation in the region needs to be strengthened and cascaded to local levels and ZELA has an opportunity to deepen work in this area through influencing tax authorities within the Southern Africa region. Through policy modelling, ZELA intends to develop specific and practical advocacy initiatives on tax and extractives.

It is against this background that ZELA is seeking a consultant to conduct a Regional research on pointed, relevant and technical alternatives to current mining fiscal regimes.

Main objectives of the research

The objective of the research is availing models of mining tax regimes for optimized mineral revenue generation. The research will be translated into French and Portuguese. ZELA will work with other CSOs and targeted partners to disseminate findings to relevant authorities and duty bearers in Southern Africa.

Specific Terms of Reference

The consultant, working closely with the ZELA team will be expected to: Undertake a desk review of existing literature pertaining to mining tax regime models in Southern Africa (A case study approach if used should cover Zimbabwe and Mozambique); Undertake a desk review of the implementation/performance of the mining tax regimes with regards to mineral revenue collection and the role of different institutional actors; Conduct interviews with select civil society organizations working on tax justice issues in the extractives sector including community members from mining areas in the region; Make recommendations through policy modelling for a more effective mineral tax regime for optimizing mineral revenue collection; Present the findings in a research report and easy to read format.

Key Deliverables

Working closely with ZELA the following deliverables will be expected: Submission of an inception report with key timelines and clear methodology; Production of a final, reviewed, and edited research paper and an easy to read PowerPoint presentation.

Timeline

The assignment will be conducted from the 14th of June 2021 to the 30th of June 2021.

Applicant requirements/Relevant qualifications

The ideal candidate should: Be a holder of a Master’s degree in economics, extractives and mining, law of taxation, environmental sciences or related field; Show proven ability to clearly and concisely express ideas and concepts in written and illustrated form; Demonstrate familiarity with concepts such as tax justice, mineral revenue, Africa Mining Vision, tax administration and good natural resource governance; Demonstrate ability to analyse and synthesise information; Have experience in developing policy models and conducting regional policy advocacy in Southern Africa.

.