The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, has called on the investor community to partner the government in order to establish a large scale mining operation in Dollar Power in the Bole District of the Savannah Region.
He said available geological data showed that the Dollar Power enclave is highly mineralised with huge deposits of gold that made it viable for the establishment of large scale mining operations.
Dollar Power, formerly known as Sindi Community, is a community along the Ghana – Ivory Coast International Boundary Line in the Savannah Region, and lies about 20km from the District Capital, Bole.
Inhabitants of this area were raided by slave traders sometime in 1897, leaving the place uninhabited. However, in 1928, the colonial Governments of the then Gold Coast and Ivory Coast, established an International Boundary Line between the two countries, with the erection of Boundary Pillars at mutually agreed positions. This Boundary Line was reaffirmed by the two countries in 1973 with the planting of teak trees along the border.
The large deposits of gold in the area, however, attracted people from across both countries whose activities has led to the destruction of Boundary Pillars and the teak trees. In 2005, a small group of Ghanaians begun moving to the area to take advantage of the gold deposits and also prevent Ivorians from exploiting the mineral resources. Currently, there are about three thousand (3,000) inhabitants in the area, mainly involved in small scale mining. The gold deposits in the area have made the people to name parts of the community Dollar Power Obuasi.
Since 2021, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, through the Ghana Boundary Commission, had been working with their counterparts in Ivory Coast to reaffirm the Boundary Lines. The Ministry has also been working with the chiefs and people of the area to regularise their small scale mining activities.
On Wednesday January 31, 2024, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources led a team from the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources and Roads and Highways to inspect progress of work on the road and other infrastructure in Dollar Power.
At a durbar with the chiefs and people of the community, Mr Jinapor said to attract the needed investment into the community, which is currently only assessable by water, the government is constructing a 24km feeder road from Ntereso in the Bole District to Dollar Power, and another 25km feeder road from Sapelliga in the Upper East Region to Dollar Power.
He also said these constructions being undertaken by the 48 Engineers of the Ghana Armed Forces are far advanced and would be completed by the middle of this year.
In addition to the construction of the roads, Mr Jinapor said the government is also committed to bringing a community mining to the area in order to regularise activities of small scale miners. He directed the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to expedite action on the establishment of a community mining scheme.
The Chief of Dollar Power, Sindiwura Mahama Awudu Abott, speaking through his Secretary, thanked government for the road construction which will link the community to other parts of the country.
He pleaded with the government to construct a bridge over the Black Volta to aid transportation and trade, as well as enhance safety of community members. He also called on government to restore the destroyed Boundary Pillars and teak trees to secure the safety of the border and prevent encroachment.
BY TIMES REPORTER