ACCRA (CU)_The Ministry of Information of Ghana organized a he bi-weekly Minister’s briefing in the capital city of Accra on Tuesday. Several matters pertaining to the economic development of the West African nation were discussed at the event. During the meeting, some of the officials underscored the need to indigenize mining in the country, in order to ensure the full benefits are derived from the industry.
Commenting on the matter, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, reaffirmed the government’s commitment create sufficient space for Ghanaians to fully participate in the mining sector, adding that a number of reforms have already been launched to this end.
“While we are insisting that no one should engage in illegal mining, I think it is also our responsibility and the responsibility of the government to provide the conducive environment and the proper and necessary framework with which we will have the moral authority to insist on compliance,” the minister said. “I am very excited that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission has outlined the measures we are putting in place to sanitise the industry.”
He further noted that it is the intention of President Nana Akufo-Addo to ensure local communities assume a commanding height in Ghana’s mining industry.
“The President is big on the indigenisation of the mining sector in the country. When you listen to the presentation, quiet clearly, the old adage of mining is gold mining… and truly gold mining is a lot of money. We are talking about billions of dollars so it is government’s responsibility to create the framework that ensures that we get the best out of it,” he said.
Meanwhile, he Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, outlined several policy reforms that are currently being undertaken by Commission with the aim of regulating and managing the mineral resources of Ghana, including the issuance of electronic license to small-scale miners, the online application of mining concessions and digitization of the manual records of the Commission.
