A five-day training aimed at building the capacity of relevant institutions in negotiating mining lease contracts based on best financing models is underway at Peduase in the Eastern Region.
It is also targeted at keeping the institutions abreast with modern changes in the mining sector to be able to support amendment of the country’s Minerals and Mining Act, 2006.
Additionally, the training was also to help in designing models to increase domestic revenue mobilisation from the extractive sector.
It is being organised by the Minerals Commission with support from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute.
Participants include representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Lands and Natural Resources, Minerals Commission and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Opening the programme yesterday, Chief Minerals Officer of the AfDB, Jerry Kwame Ahadjie, said, the absence of matched policies for the minerals extraction and beneficiation was partly responsible for limited impact of the sector to socioeconomic growth and development in most African countries.
Additionally, some African countries have been shortchanged during negotiations of mining lease agreements due to lack of coordinated policies which could provide a guide to ensure equitable outcomes
In this regard, he stated that, it was necessary for Africa to develop harmonised policies for minerals and other resources extraction and beneficiation to be able to derive full benefits.
As the host of 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves and more than 50 per cent annual production, he explained that, there was the need for the development of strategies to fast track achievement of key enablers of Africa’s industrialisation.
“Ghana and other African countries cannot operate in isolation in addressing the challenge of the economy of scale. We need a regional approach to be able to make the sector’s contribution to economic growth impactful in our continent.
This training is part of the AfDB’s effort to build the capacity of African countries toward developing coordinated policies which would help to maximise the benefits of minerals exploration and make Africa competitive against other larger market such as China,” Mr Ahadjie stated.
In addition to designating an area purposely for artisanal and small scale mining, he urged government to enforce mining laws to curb illegal mining and protect the environment.
Ben Aryee, Advisor to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said the training was a part of a three-leg agenda including review of some existing mining lease agreements and terms and review of the mining laws being pursued by the ministry.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
