The President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has hinted that Government, in its bid to retain the highest end of the mining value chain in the country, would soon stop the exportation of bauxite and iron ore in their raw state.
According to the President, the surest way to optimally benefit from our natural resources is to add value to them and ensure that they have adequate linkages to the other sectors of the economy. He said the establishment of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) provide a firm foundation to build in the country integrated aluminium and iron and steel industries.
The President was speaking at a two-day Natural Resources Stakeholder Dialogue organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited, in partnership with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. The Dialogue, held under the theme “Harnessing Our Natural Resources Responsibly for Sustainable Collective Good,” brought together stakeholders in the Natural Resources sector, to deliberate on how to efficiently manage the natural resources of the country for national development.
Among others, the Dialogue will discuss matters relating to sustainable mining, forest protection and preservation, land use and administration, illegal logging and mining, as well as environmental protection.
In his Keynote Address, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the importance of natural resources to humanity. He bemoaned Africa’s approach to natural resources management over the years, which has led to the continent becoming the poorest in the world, despite its richness in natural resources. He also lamented the poor state of the areas where these minerals are derived, such as Obuasi, Bibiani and Tarkwa.
According to the President, African countries have generally not done well in negotiations with companies in the extractive sector, partly due to corruption, incompetence and political instability, and partly due to short-sighted, which results in countries settling for less. These issues are usually worsened by illicit financial flows from the extractive industry.
The President said the establishment of GIADEC and GIISDEC was borne out of the need to ensure value addition to the country’s mineral resources. He said of the over US$180 billion global aluminium industry, raw bauxite accounts for only 7.6%, with the greater part of the market generated from processed bauxite. This, he intimated, is not different from other minerals, and therefore requires that we add value to our resources.
Section 28 of the law establishing GIADEC (Act 976), and section 30 the law establishing GIISDEC (Act 988) empower the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to ban the export of raw bauxite and iron ore after five years of the coming into force of these laws. The President said Government intends to invoke these provisions of the law in the not-too-distant future.
On gold, he said a 400kg refinery has been established through a Public Private Partnership, while steps are being taken to secure a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Certification. The President called for support in the measures being taken by Government, emphasising that the protection and management of natural resources is a collective responsibility.
For his part, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP., said natural resources management has gone beyond protection and exploitation to issues of sustainability, environmental protection, mitigating climate crisis, and ensuring optimal benefit for the owners of the resources. He said several measures have been taken towards this end, including local content and local participation in the mining industry, which has seen an increase in the items on the Local Procurement List of goods and services reserved for Ghanaians from twenty-nine (29) in 2018 to fifty (50) this year, as well as the gradual listing of large scale mining companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange. He said stringent measures have also been put in place to cordon off and protect the country’s forest resources from attacks by illegal miners, illegal loggers, agricultural expansionists, and other drivers of deforestation and forest degradation.
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, who also spoke at the event called on all stakeholders to work together to protect the environment. The Dialogue will end on Friday, May 12, 2023 with a Communique on the sustainable management of natural resources for national development.
