General News of Saturday, 18 September 2021
Source:
2021-09-18
George Mireku Duker
Hon. George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister in charge of Mines has called on District and Regional Managers of the Minerals Commission to pay regular inspection at the various mining sites in all 13 mining Regions of the country.
This is to ensure that mining activities are done in a more structured, accurate and safer manner. The move, according to the Deputy Minister will also enable the Minerals Commission Managers to ascertain the needs of Miners and properly address them.
The Deputy Minister stated this at the opening of a 3-day workshop in Kumasi, today, 17th September, 2021. He outlined some interventions being made by Government through the Ministry including the ongoing construction of a State gold refinery which is about 85% complete.
He maintained that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led Government has made unprecedented strides in the regularization of the small-scale mining in Ghana, notably the community mining scheme, the rolling out of the Alternative Livelihood Project among others.
Hon. Duker underscored the importance of the Community mining concept, saying Government is determined to enhance the Community Mining Scheme to provide more employment for the teeming youth, adding that ‘unemployment is a national security issue’.
He called for closer collaborations between the Minerals Commission and the mother Ministry, stressing that quarterly meetings for the Managers should be encouraged.
The 3-day meeting is aimed at equipping officers as outlined by section 90(3) of Act 703 towards effective implementation of Government steps in sanitizing the mining sector.
Participants at the workshop will be taken through the Mineral Cadastral Administration System (MCAS) which seeks to digitize the application of minerals rights in Ghana to reduce the delays in getting mining license in the sector.