Mineral wealth must benefit everyone – Veep

 The  Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called on stakeholders to work to­gether to achieve sustainable mineral wealth that benefits everyone especially persons in mining communities.

According to her, mining communities still remain underdeveloped due to the wide gap between the enormous profits of mining industries and the allocated funds to the mining communities.

“Let’s take Akwatia for instance, the heartbeat of diamond mining, Awaso, home of rich bauxite reserves and Obuasi, famous for its gold, these communities, despite their immense contributions to the national treasury, often bear the brunt of environmental degradation, poor infra­structure and the erosion of traditional livelihoods,” she said.

The Vice President whose speech was read on her behalf by the Presidential Advisor on Political Affairs, Dr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at a stakeholders forum on strengthening the mining sector for sustainable development in Accra yester­day, noted that while the country’s mineral resources had contributed significantly to the economy, the benefits had not been equitably shared.

Organised by the Minerals Development Fund (MDF) on the theme; “Sustainable Mineral Wealth, Ensuring Equitable Bene­fits for All,” the forum was aimed to foster dialogue on strategic reforms, governance and sustainable development initiatives.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang noted that the youth in the mining communities were demanding their fair share of the wealth extracted from beneath their feet, and that failure to address this imbalance risks deep­ening distrust and social unrest.

To achieve sustainable mineral wealth, the Vice President called for deeper col­laboration between government, mining companies, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, and affected communities.

“The true treasure of our national prog­ress is not in how much we extract from the ground but in how many lives we ele­vate from poverty, how many communities we empower and how fairly we distribute the dividends of our natural endowment, it is not enough to extract value, we must also extract hope, opportunity and justice for all,” she underscored.

The Vice President also stressed the importance of sustainability, environmental responsibility, and long-term national ben­efit, adding that “the scars of unregulated mining, polluted rivers, deforested lands and abandoned pits must give way to a new era of respectable regenerative mining.”

The Minister of Lands and Natural Re­sources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, reaffirmed of the government’s commit­ment to transparency, equity, and sustain­ability in the mining sector.

The Minister whose speech was read on his behalf by the Deputy Commis­sioner of the Minerals Commission, Ms Victoria Awuni, called for collective action to combat illegal mining and promote sus­tainable mining practices that protected the environment and ensure intergenerational justice.

To invest in persons living in mining communities, the Administrator of Miner­als Development Fund (MDF), Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw-Kotei, said 1,500 young persons living with disabilities would be trained in fabrication and other skills.

Also, she said start-up kits would be provided to all trainees after successfully completing the training while 100,000 fish farm project, a fish processing plant will be established to implement the zero-cost farming initiative.

 BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA