As part of ongoing efforts to decentralise the Minerals Commission, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor has commissioned a new state-of-the-art office in Bibiani in the Western North Region.
This is the latest in a series of modernised regional offices being established by the government.
The new Bibiani office is equipped with the latest technology and infrastructure, aimed at providing more effective oversight and regulation of mining activities in the region.
The facility will allow the Minerals Commission to better serve small-scale miners and monitor large-scale mining operations in the area.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Minister underscored the importance of having a suitable workspace for the Commission’s work.
“Despite the importance of this Office to the mining industry, it has been accommodated in a very small rented chamber and hall office space for more than 30 years. This impeded the recruitment of new staff to augment the work of the office. The inadequacy of the Office became even more apparent following the internal restructuring of the Minerals Commission, which necessitated increasing services at the Regional and District Offices, such as cartography, survey, community relations and environmental protection, among others,” he said.
He noted that the new office, with its expanded services including cartography, surveying, community relations and environmental protection, is expected to address these challenges.
“With three large-scale mining operations within this Municipality at Awaso, Bibiani and Chirano, it became necessary to secure a more conducive working space for the Commission to effectively regulate mining operations in this area and to provide the full spectrum of mining-related monitoring services, not just for small scale mining, but, also, large scale mining operations and ensure the successful implementation of the minerals diversification policy through the promotion of economic and industrial minerals. With two Satellite Offices in Nkwawie and Juaboso, I do not doubt that this Office will live up to its mandate” he added.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fighting illegal small-scale mining, noting that the government has made commitments to rid the mining space of any illegality, particularly mining activities that happen close to forest reserves and river bodies.
The Chairperson of the Minerals Commission Board, Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi, noted that the new facility would improve service delivery and monitoring in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipality.
She highlighted various interventions, such as the Community Mining Scheme and the introduction of mercury-free Gold Katchas, aimed at streamlining small-scale mining operations.
The Bibiani office is the third modernised Minerals Commission regional office to be unveiled in recent months, with more planned for Kumasi, Tamale and Bole by the end of 2024 as part of the government’s decentralisation drive.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
