The proposal put forth by NPP presidential candidate Mahamudu Bawumia to establish a Minerals Development Bank has been praised by the deputy minister of lands and natural resources responsible for mining, George Mireku Duker.
He believes that this initiative will transform small-scale mining financing in Ghana and increase the involvement of locals in the sector. Due to the significant capital required to own and operate a concession, many indigenous people are currently not actively engaged in the mining industry.
As a result, they often end up acting as fronts for foreign nationals, resulting in them having only a small share in these concessions. During an interview on Joy News on Tuesday (16 July), Duker expressed his confidence that the Minerals Development Bank will bring about a significant positive change in the sector.
The small-scale mining alone in Ghana could create not less than one million direct employees. So the small-scale mining sector if encouraged could do a lot to address the unemployment situation we have in the country.
It says we will establish a Minerals Development Bank. That’s a game-changer.
So, If the Minerals Development Bank is established, these people, then they could access funding by themselves and pay whatever interest they mine. So your concession will be assessed by the bank and if it is feasible, then we can think of getting some funding from the bank.
