Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abdulai Jinapor has attributed the breakdown of regulation in Ghana’s mining sector to years of neglect in properly equipping the Minerals Commission to fulfil its mandate effectively.
He noted that it is not in the country’s best interest to concentrate the work of the Inspectorate Division of the Commission in Accra, while Minerals Commission offices in mining areas lack the necessary logistics to effectively carry out their duties.
The Minister emphasized the need to decentralize the operations of the Minerals Commission and enhance its resources to ensure it can execute its constitutional mandate effectively.
“The problem we have had, which is why we have had this breakdown in regulation in the mining sector of our country, particularly the small-scale mining sector, is because we have not been able to regulate the sector in the manner that we should.”
“You have the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission sitting in Accra. The mining is taking place in Obuasi and other areas, and you do not have enough personnel to inspect and ensure that licenses are processed on time, and so on. This is what has brought us to where we are today. There have been years of neglect, of not putting in place the necessary infrastructure and enhancing the operational capacity of the Minerals Commission because the Minerals Commission is the regulator of the mining sector in our country.”
Mr. Jinapor made these remarks during an inspection of the construction of a state-of-the-art office for the Minerals Commission in the Ashanti Region, expected to be completed in October 2024.
The GH¢80 million project will be an eight-story building with office spaces, banking halls, a laboratory, and a museum.
Once completed, it will serve Newmont, Ahafo North and South, Asanko, and Obuasi Mines.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, stated that the completion of the project, along with similar ones across the country, will enhance the Minerals Commission’s efficiency.
“Four major mines will be taken care of from here: Ahafo, Newmont Ahafo, and the new one that will be commissioned next year, Asanko, and Obuasi, and then one in Tamale and Bolgatanga.”