Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the impact of the opening of an industrial gold mine on "local labor" in a provincial town of Burkina Faso. It focuses on interventions of politicians and civil society actors with regard to notions of "local content".

Paper long abstract:

For many foreign investors, Burkina Faso does not have a longstanding tradition as a part of "usable Africa". It is only since 2008 that the country is witnessing an industrial gold mining boom, which has since then led to the opening of ten industrial gold mines in the country. However, as in many other African countries, expectations in terms of benefits from large-scale resource extraction are high. Furthermore, the ongoing decentralization process and the political regime change due to a popular uprising in 2014, have led to a range of political reforms in the mining sector, and new interests of municipal and civil society actors in mining issues. Based on several months of ethnographic field research in southwestern Burkina Faso, this paper examines the impact of the establishment of a Canadian-led industrial gold mine on "local labor" in the provincial town of Houndé. It is argued that despite of the company's limited need for workforce, different local and national stakeholders are making use of the multinational corporation´s presence to express political claims, and to negotiate labor opportunities and conditions. While the competition around notions of "local content" serves as a key site of articulating political agendas and rivalries, it transforms the mining town as a social space. The paper highlights the different interventions of politicians and civil society actors by referring to the contested process of establishing a "pre-selection" committee for "semi-" and "unskilled" labor and a professional training program for the "local youth".