The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mines, Mr George Mireku Duker, has lauded the mining policy proposed by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking at a press engagement on Tuesday in Accra, he elaborated on Dr Bawumia’s mining policy, expressing the belief in its potential to transform, particularly the small-scale mining sector.
The policy, according to him, is based on two main themes: ushering Ghana into a Golden age of maximising the benefits from natural resources through value addition, Ghanaian ownership and establishing a new paradigm in natural resource contracts.
The 18-point policy plan aims to formalise, regularise and regulate environmentally sustainable small-scale mining to promote the growth and expansion of the sector.
Mr Duker noted that Dr Bawumia is committed to ensuring that the one million job opportunities currently provided by the sector are increased exponentially.
He said a Bawumia administration would create a viable link in the entire value chain of the small-scale mining sector, enabling small-scale miners to sell gold to the Bank of Ghana and be part of the gold reserves of the central bank.
“A Bawumia administration will support the Minerals Commission and key stakeholders to formalise the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector and ensure that the activities of the entire value chain are sustainably and responsibly done. The administration will also continue the decentralisation programme relative to the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency to enable the smooth administration of mining activities in the country,” he said.
The Deputy Minister assured that Dr Bawumia’s administration would drastically reduce illegal mining activities with innovative ideas and policies and crack down on recalcitrant miners without fear or favour.
He urged Ghanaians, particularly those in the small-scale mining sector, to have confidence in Dr Bawumia’s ability to protect their jobs and rid the industry of excesses that are crippling it and the country at large.
On her part, the Deputy Minister for Information, Madam Fatimatu Abubakari, corroborated the Deputy Lands Minister’s statement, emphasising that the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry would create jobs for the youth in the mining sector and promote knowledge transformation.
She stated that the Community Mining scheme would benefit many people within the catchment communities.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
