The NPP Flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has a policy for small-scale mining that Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has called a “game-changer” that has the potential to revolutionise the mining industry.
The Deputy Minister explained Dr Bawumia’s mining policy in great detail during a media interaction in Accra, reaffirming his view that the programme will revolutionise the small-scale mining industry.
He clarified that the two theme categories served as the strategy’s foundation. bringing Ghana’s natural resources—such as bauxite, lithium, and gold—to fuller use to maximise their value.
and guaranteeing Ghanaian ownership and value addition by establishing a new standard in contracts for natural resources.
Mr Mireku Duker stated that the 18-point policy document would ensure the formalisation, regularisation and regulatory measures for the environmentally sustainable small-scale mining sector.
The Deputy Minister observed that Dr Bawumia was fully abreast of the socio-economic potential of environmentally. the friendly and profit-making small-scale mining sector and determined to ensure that the one million job opportunities currently provided increase exponentially.
“We will formalise, regularise and regulate environmentally sustainable small-scale mining. About one million people are engaged in small-scale mining. Our goal would be to help small-scale mining companies grow into large-scale companies with capacity building and assisting them to access financing to acquire equipment.
“We can create many millionaires in the small-scale mining industry if we support them,” he quoted Dr Bawumia’s statement.
To achieve that laudable goal, Mr Mireku Duker noted that under Dr Bawumia’s presidency, there would be a viable link within the entire value chain of the small-scale mining sector, which would enable them to sell their gold to the Bank of Ghana and be part of the gold reserves of the Central Bank.
“We will support the Minerals Commission and key stakeholders to formalise the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector to ensure that the activities of the entire value chain are sustainably and responsibly done so that most of the gold produced by this sector can be sold to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and be eligible to be part of the gold reserves of the central bank,” he referenced Dr Bawumia’s statement.
The Deputy Minister stated that under Bawumia’s Administration, the decentralisation programme started by the Akufo Addo-led government would continue.
The Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency will have a presence in all mining districts to enable them to ensure the smooth administration of mining activities in the country, Mr Mireku Duker stated.
He added that the Community Mining Scheme, which was already yielding positive results, would be scaled up to ensure its sustainability, whilst all small-scale miners would be registered with the National Small-Scale Miners Association.
“We will further deepen the decentralisation of the Minerals Commission as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ensure that they are present in all mining districts,” he said.
He was of the firm belief that under Bawumia’s Administration, there would be a drastic reduction in illegal mining activities with innovative ideas and policies to crack down on irresponsible miners.
Mr Mireku Duker urged Ghanaians, particularly those in the small-scale mining sector to have absolute confidence in Dr Bawumia to protect their jobs and rid the industry of the excesses.
