The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has noted that Ghana’s lack of value addition in its minerals produce is a clear case of a gap that needed to be addressed through stakeholder engagement programme.

In a speech read on his behalf by Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Deputy Minister of Mines at a stakeholder engagement programme at Tarkwa, on Ghana’s Country Mining Vision (CMV), he disclosed that Ghana, like most African countries had historically not benefited enough to make the desired impact from the exploitation of its mineral resources.

“This is evident in that throughout Africa, basic economic challenges still persist, whilst in well-endowed mineral resource rich countries in the developed world, the mineral resources have been used as a primary commodity to catalyze the development of other sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, industries and other service-based industries” he emphasized.

The Minerals Commission, representing the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has started series of engagement programme on Ghana’s Country Mining Vision (CMV) to help align it with the broad national development goals, with the African Mining Vision (AMV) as the basis.

Aside the meeting in Tarkwa, other engagements have been held with stakeholders in Sunyani and Bolgatanga. The series of workshops brings together, a wide range of stakeholders, including senior policy officials, mining experts, civil society leaders, researchers, legislature, academia, traditional authorities, local government officials and community opinion leaders.

The outcome of the awareness creation and engagement programme will serve as input to developing practical broad-based recommendations for developing Ghana’s CMV, to ensure the sustainable development of the minerals industry to serve as a catalyst to develop other relevant sectors of the economy.