A Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) is an instrument through which dispute resolution is sought and provided. It involves the receipt and processing of complaints from individuals or groups negatively affected by activities of a particular project.
MinDiver intends to implement its activities whose overall objective is to link with the roadmap and enhance the mining sector’s contribution to the economy by strengthening key government institutions, improving information infrastructure and knowledge, and fostering domestic investment in the sector.
The programme will be implemented in virtually all the state of the federation. MinDiver main role is the overall management of the projects and the programmes is being financed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank. It is in this context that a GRM be prepared which will ensure smooth implementation of the projects in a timely and effective manner of addressing problems encountered during their implementation.
The GRM will assist the PIU to ensure that deliberate processes and procedures are put in place to capture, assess and respond to concerns from project beneficiaries, project executors and the general public during the implementation of the project. This will ensure smooth implementation of the projects and timely and effectively addressing of the problems that would be encountered during implementation.
MinDiver-GRM System
On the basis of the information gathered and considering the limitations of the formal and informal redress, the GRM team proposes that a blend of traditional approach with the formal redress mechanism should be adopted. As such the proposed MinDiver Grievance Redress Mechanism (M-GRM) will be established around the Community system, the State institutions and the PIU level.
The project adopts simple steps in the process of grievance handling namely:
- Screening of the grievance,
- Investigation of the grievance,
- Resolving and disposing of the conflict,
- Conclusion and registration of disposed cases and finally
- Monitoring and tracking the grievance.
The team also proposes that the mechanism should be in 3 levels/tiers namely; community, State and MinDiver (national) levels/tiers. The structure and composition of these levels have been addressed in the sections below and summarily depicted in the schema below.
At the community level, a committee of six comprising representatives of women and youths receives the complaint through the chairperson. In the case of GBV complain, the woman leader in the team receives the complaint and transfers it to the GBV service provider, health care facility or the police based on the survival’s choice of option. The window of 5 days for providing resolution to the grievance is given as the timeline for the redress at the community level. Where the grievance is not resolved, the case is referred to the secondary or State level for consideration within another 10 days. Where a case is unresolved, it goes to the MINDIVER Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for action. It is expected that at this tertiary level, a grievance should be resolved within 21 days, after which other alternative redress means can be approached. Details of the report is been disclosed at the World bank infoshop and the dashboard of the MinDiver Project through the Ministry of Mines and Steel official website (www.minesandsteel.gov.ng)
In implementing this document, MinDiver has moved steps closer in identification and Inauguration of this committee at the community project level and the state level.
The three first Mover location for civil intervention works is;
- Ladi Kwali Pottery Centre, Suleja, Niger State,
- National Steel Raw Material Exploration Agency (NSRMEA) and Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) Kaduna, and
- National Metallurgical Development Centre and Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geoscience (NIMG), Jos, Plateau State.