Under the Great Speech, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia outline several policies and initiatives designed and tailored to tackle all the sectors in the country. These Bold Solutions will seek to address the issues and problems in the country serving as lasting Panacea Ghanaians have been waiting for. Under the Mining sector, Dr. Bawumia outlined these eighteen unique initiatives to tackle the issues affecting the sector.
1.License all responsible miners
Under this policy the Dr. Bawumia administration will make sure to license all responsible mining companies and individual organization to ensure safe and legal mining. This policy sakes to ensure legal and safe mining without destroying our land and water bodies. This policy will seek to monitor the way and manner miners operate in order to sustain our lands and water bodies.
2.No seizure/burning of excavators for miners within license limits
This policy will address the issue of miners without license and make sure to enroll all of them in a license scheme to ensure say mining. Those without license will not have their excavators seize or burnt but rather seek to bring them on board by encouraging them to license their operation to ensure safe mining.
3.Decentralize Minerals Commission and EPA
This policy will allows the lower management to be more actively involved in the decision making process, which ensures growth of the organization as well as personal growth. This policy seeks to promote effective interaction between different levels of government which will ensure growth and diversification.
4.Convert abandoned mining shafts into community schemes
This policy will convert abandoned mining shafts into community schemes where there is shared use of and responsibility for lands such as share block companies and housing cooperatives.
5.More new community mining schemes will be built
This policy will see to establishment of more new community mining schemes
6.Mining committees responsible for reclamation and replanting will be facilitated.
This initiative aims to make the work of the various committees responsible for reclamation and replanting easier.
7.Pension scheme for small scale miners
This policy will provide small scale miners with pension schemes to make life simple and easier after retirement.
8.Vocational training on sustainable mining for small scale miners
Vigorous training for small scale miners will be adopted under this initiative to ensure legal and safe mining while protecting our lands and water bodies.
9.Provide equipment for land reclamation in mining communities
This initiative will provide the needed tools and equipment for land reclamation as it will help in providing space for human development, recreational areas, and socio-economic structures. it will also aid the process by which adverse environmental effects of surface mining are minimized and mined lands are returned to a beneficial end use.
10.Set up state-of-the-art common user gold processing units
An ultra modern facilities will be establish to aid in our gold processing unit.
11.Conduct audit of all mining concessions and applications
12.Abolish VAT on exploration services
This project will seek to do away with VAT on exploration services for companies and organization searching for and extracting oil and gas.
13.Establish Minerals Development Bank
There will be the establishment of Mineral Development Bank in the mining sector which will help in conducting environmental and social assessment processes for all projects they engage in, bringing added transparency and accountability to these projects. As many transition mineral deposits are located in countries where private investment carries additional risk, the establishment of this Mineral Development Bank will play an important role in bringing these critical minerals to market.
14.Establish LBMA-certified gold refinery within 4 years
As government seeks to increase its gold-for-oil arrangement and secure a gold mining concession in order to increase it’s gold reserves to improve its stock of international reserves and balance of payments position, it is therefore prudent to establish a London Bullion Market Association Certified Gold Refinery.
15.Purchase responsibly mined small scale gold for central bank
16.Engage exploration experts from universities and institutions.17.Provide resources for mapping gold reserves
18.Build Ghana’s gold reserves
