General News of Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Source: Kwabena Danso-Danso

Government to add value to mineral resources - Bawumia

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

The establishment of Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminum Development Authority (GIBADA) by the government aiming to add value to the county's mineral resources is ready to be used, according to Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia

"We are almost at the end of establishing a government holding company by name Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminum Development Authority (GIBADA). The bill establishing GIBADA is already laid in parliament awaiting passage", he explains.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, therefore, pointed out that Ghana has some of the richest bauxite deposits in the World so adding value to it will yield substantial benefits for the people of this country and the government in particular to help curb the unemployment situation in the county.

"With production rate of about 10 million tones metric tones of alumina annually, production could last well over 50 years", the Vice-president in his addressed delivered at 2018 National Policy Summits on the economy at the Ashanti Regional Kumasi stated.

The two days Summits which begun yesterday Monday 23rd July 2018 is under the theme: " Assessing the Growth, Jobs and Prosperity Agenda" was chaired by His Eminent Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, King of the Asante Kingdom attended by members of the public

According to government, the GIBADA when completed will create potentially one of the single alumina industries in Africa after Guinea, with a huge positive job impact for the many unemployed Ghanaians in both formal and informal sectors.

"Guided by the benefits of the diversification, our industries drive is not just limited to the extractive sector. We have also launched One- District-One-Factory Warehouse as a policy imitative to mark the new dawn of the Ghanaian indigenous business promotion aimed at adding value to our raw materials, creating jobs and stimulating local economies for the benefit of all citizens".

"We [also] welcome both foreign and local investor participation in this enterprise as well", Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia told participants of the Summits.