The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) is developing a Legislative Instrument (L.I) to fully operationalise the GGSA Act 2016, (Act 928) to be able to carry out its mandate, the Acting Director-General of GGSA, Mr Isaac Kuunwan Mwinbelle, has stated.
The Act which was assented to by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 mandated the GGSA to advise, promote and research geoscientific issue concerning mineral resources, groundwater, environment, geo-hazards and land use planning to support sustainable economic development.
“It’s been seven years since the GGSA Act was assented to by the President in September 2016. In order to fully operationalise the Act 928, and optimise the full benefit of the Act, work is advancing steadily in a development of a draft Legislative Instrument to fully operationalise the Act,” Mr Mwinbelle said.
Also, the Authority, he said, was developing a 10-year strategic plan to ensure that its activities were fully implemented.
Mr Mwinbelle said these at the launch of the 110th anniversary celebration of the GGSA in Accra, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Ghana Institute of Geoscience, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Audit Committee members of GGSA and other relevant organisations and agencies.
The year-long celebration will be on the theme, “Ghana’s Sustainable Industrial and Socio-economic transformation: The Pivotal Role of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority.”
Highlighting on some of its achievements which included the geological mapping, investigation into groundwater potential, geological information and the discoveries of minerals, Mr Mwinbelle noted that, there was the need to modernise rapid data collection, interpretation and integration of mapping data.
According to him, rapid collection of comprehensive data would facilitate a more proactive approach to planning and development.
Mr Mwinbelle noted that his outfit was liaising with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to ensure that ground investigation were conducted and certified report issued by the Authority prior to major construction works or projects.
That, he said would reduce wrongful siting of buildings along weak geological structures such as faulty unconsolidated earth, and curtail the menace of rampant collapsing of development structures.
Delivering the keynote address, the Deputy Minister of the MLNR, Mr George Mireku Duker, recognising the role of GGSA in the socio-economic development of the country affirmed government’s commitment to support the Authority to carry out its mandate.
For instance, he indicated that policies and programmes such as the World Bank supported-Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project was being implemented by the government to help protect the small-scale mining sector.
He further indicated that there was the need to consider factors such as climate change, disaster management, and sustainable food supply chain in the development of the L.l. of the GGSA.
Mr Duker underscored the need for stronger collaboration and engagements with relevant stakeholders including outreach programmes to educate communities on natural disasters and natural resource management.
With Ghana recently overtaking South Africa as the largest gold producer in Africa, Mr P. Y. O. Amoako, the Board Chairman of the GGSA, noted that the same feat could be achieved for the other mineral resources in Ghana to help improve the socio-economic development of the country.
In his remarks, the President of the Ghana Institute of Geoscience and chairman for the occasion, Mr Anthony Duah, urged the GGSA to continue with its good works while collaborating with its stakeholders in its operations
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
