We hope that the move by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) to construct a bauxite refinery at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso in the Ashanti Region will come to pass for all its benefits.
It is common knowledge that countries that export raw commodities gain little from their God-given resources, whereas the countries buying the commodities derive multiple benefits.
This is so because the importing countries have established refineries and other facilities which they use to extract every good thing from the raw commodities, to the extent that sometimes even wastes from the process of refining the commodities become useful by-products for direct use or for manufacture of other products.
Viewing the situation in that perspective, we can only commend the GIADEC for going to establish a bauxite refinery in the country.
We know their efforts could not be fruitful without the backing of the government in all the relevant areas, so we also commend the Akufo-Addo government for pushing for this move.
Bauxite refineries produce alumina (aluminum oxide), which is used to create aluminum metal.
Bauxite is also used to manufacture other products like abrasives, steel, cement and chemicals like petroleum products.
It is clear that if the country gets a bauxite refinery,
the multiple benefits of the mineral would accrue to it and strengthen its economy.
This obviously will enable the country to put an end to decades of exporting raw bauxite.
It is worthy of note that the refinery will create more than 1,500 jobs over time, while building collaboration with local subcontractors, prioritising local talent and organising training programmes that align with cultural and environmental considerations.
That is to say that the activities of the refinery will be culturally and environmentally-friendly.
This is good because the country has had to deal with situations where the public or certain groups have risen against the operations of some concerns or firms because the operations are environmentally and culturally hurting.
It is significant that prior to even establishing the bauxite refinery, GIADEC has anticipated the harm it can create and as nsuch planned to forestall that.
This is a mark of a corporate citizen that values the sanctity of the relationship between firms and their host communities.
While we commend GIADEC for this important act, we recommend it to prospective investors, both local and foreign, and appeal to operating investors having issues with the host communities to do all they can to resolve them.
It is our prayer also that once the refinery becomes operative, the prices of the products it will help to produce on the value chain will reduce for the people to feel its presence or impact.
We expect this because the importation of such products must cease or reduce drastically in which case the cost of procuring them would likely reduce.
If all goes well for GIADEC, we expect that one day it will venture into importing raw bauxite from Mozambique and Guinea, the biggest producer in Africa, where refineries are yet to be established.
We wish GIADEC all the best in its endeavours.
