Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has expressed the government’s determination to build an indigenous mining industry with strong local content participation.
That, he said, is government’s overall policy objective for a viable, sustainable and environmentally sound mining industry.
He stated the exploitation, utilisation and management of mineral resources must inure to the benefit of Ghanaians, the true owners of the resources.
Mr. Abu Jinapor disclosed these when he responded to a question that stood in the name of the member for Abura Asebu Kwamankese, Mr. Elvis Morris Donko.
He questioned the new measures being adopted to enhance local content in the procurement of goods and services and which areas have now been preserved for Ghanaians in the mining sector.
According to Mr. Jinapor, one of the ways of ensuring the mining industry benefits the people is the existence of an effective local content policy.
He said, “Pursuant to this vision, in 2020, we promulgated the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431) to, among others, promote job creation through the use of local expertise, achieve some minimum local level and in-country spend for the provision of goods and services, maintain a degree of participation for Ghanaians and Ghanaian companies in the mining industry value chain and develop capacities in the mining industry value chain through education, skills transfer and expertise development, transfer of technology and know-how, and research and development programmes.”
The law, according to the Minister, requires mineral rights holders to develop, for the approval of the Minerals Commission, a localisation programme for the recruitment and training of Ghanaians, and a procurement plan to procure goods and services with Ghanaian content.
“Additionally, regulation 7 of L.I. 2431 empowers the Minerals Commission to publish in the Gazette, on its website and in a newspaper of nationwide circulation, a local procurement list which stipulates the goods and services with Ghanaian content which are to be procured in the country by mineral rights holders.”
“Pursuant to this, the Minerals Commission has, as of 3rd March, 2022, concluded discussions with all stakeholders, including the Ghana Chamber of Mines, and has increased the goods and services to be procured locally from 29 to 41.
The list, he said, has been submitted to the Ghana Publishing Company and will be gazetted in due course and published in the newspapers and the Website of the Minerals Commission, in accordance with L.I. 2431.
The procurement of these goods and services in Ghana, he said, generates over one billion US dollars each year, which, but for the Regulations, would have been exported.
According to him, in addition to the above goods and services, regulations 10 of L.I. 2431 requires mineral right holders to ensure their insurable risks with companies licensed by the National Insurance Commission (NIC), unless expressly authorised by the NIC, and regulation 12 requires mineral right holders to retain the services of financial institutions incorporated in Ghana for their operations that require financial transactions, with at least 20% reserved for financial institutions owned by Ghanaians.
He disclosed the Minerals Commission has, since the beginning of this year, been working with the Bank of Ghana and the National Insurance Commission, submitted to the Ghana Chamber of Mines a list of all insurance companies licensed by the National Insurance Commission, and a list of banks incorporated in Ghana and those owned by Ghanaians. Meanwhile, mineral rights holders have been directed to ensure full compliance with these requirements and the Minerals Commission is engaging them to ensure they comply fully.
Source: Mypublisher24.com