Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, George Mireku Duker, has provided a comprehensive breakdown of the policy strategy of Vice President and New Patriotic Party Presidential hopeful, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for the small-scale mining sector.
Mr. Mireku Duker described this strategy as groundbreaking and capable of transforming Ghana’s mining industry.
During a press engagement this past Tuesday, Mr. Mireku Duker outlined Dr. Bawumia’s policy, emphasizing its potential to revolutionize the small-scale mining sector. The strategy is based on two thematic areas: the maximization of the benefits from natural resources like gold, lithium, and bauxite through value addition and Ghanaian ownership, and the establishment of a new paradigm in natural resource contracts.
According to Mr. Mireku Duker, the policy document is an 18-point plan aimed at ensuring the formalization, regularization, and regulation of environmentally sustainable small-scale mining to promote growth and expansion in the sector. Furthermore, the strategy is focused on increasing job opportunities within the small-scale mining sector.
The minister highlighted the government’s commitment to creating a viable link within the entire value chain of the small-scale mining sector, allowing miners to sell their gold to the Bank of Ghana and contribute to the country’s gold reserves.
In addition, the administration led by Dr. Bawumia plans to scale up the Community Mining Scheme and ensure the registration of all small-scale miners with the National Small Scale Miners Association. They also aim to decentralize the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency to have a presence in all mining districts.
In addressing illegal mining activities, the administration intends to implement innovative ideas and policies to reduce such activities and take strict action against non-compliant miners without bias.
The Deputy Information Minister, Fatimatu Abubakari, also supported Mr. Mireku Duker’s statement, highlighting the efforts of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry to create jobs for the youth in the mining sector and promote knowledge transformation through the Community Mining scheme.
