Ghanaian universities told to develop courses on mining at higher level

Government has asked Ghanaian universities to play an instrumental role in building local expertise for the mining industry.

They should develop programmes and courses on mining at the higher level of education to harness the capacity of the people to participate effectively in the mining value chain.

“We have to take responsibility for the mining industry. After all, the minerals belong to us,” Mr Samuel A. Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources stated.

Delivering a paper on the topic, “The Legal Regime of the Mining Sector in Ghana”, at a public lecture in Kumasi, organized by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana School of Law, the Minister said the nation ought to aspire for more local participation in the mining industry.

“We still have a lot of expatriates in charge of key aspects of the mining industry,” Mr. Jinapor lamented, saying the government had resolved to change the narrative through a comprehensive review of the local content law.

In pursuance of this vision, the country, in 2020, promulgated the Minerals and Mining Local Content and Local Participation Regulation 2020 (L.I. 2431), he noted.

This Regulation, according to him, reserved certain services, like catering, haulage, fuel supply, security services, legal services, financial services, and insurance services for Ghanaians and professionals licensed to practice in Ghana.

The Minerals Commission is also empowered to publish, from time to time, the list of goods and services, which holders of minerals rights are to procure within the country.

Mr Jinapor indicated that his Ministry was working effectively with stakeholders to sanitize the small-scale mining industry.

“It is our resolve to see a small-scale mining sector contributing substantially to national development and growth, with all the activities conforming to environmental and safety standards,” Mr. Jinapor observed.

The government, he said, would continue to wage war on illegal small-scale mining since it was inimical to the sustenance of the ecology.

He gave the assurance that the authorities would not relent in engaging stakeholders to advance policies that would help the country leverage on its mineral resources to bring prosperity to the people.

Mr Wonder Victor Kutor, SRC President of the Ghana School of Law, said the programme aimed at giving an insight into the legal regime of the mining sector, with particular reference to the history, challenges, and way forward.