Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, has entreated heads of mining sector agencies to be cost-effective in their operations due to the current economic challenges.

He asked them to reduce costs in the payment of allowances, fuel utilisation and the number of vehicles used to save money for the state.

“In view of the current economic situation we find ourselves, we need to make sacrifices and be cost-effective in our operations and activities this year,” he said.

Mr Mireku Duker gave the advice at the opening of a retreat for mining sub-sector agencies in Accra on Thursday.

Participating agencies include the Minerals Commission, Precious Minerals Marketing Company, Minerals Development Fund, Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation, Ghana Survey Authority, and Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation.

Every head of agency is supposed to make a presentation on his/her Action Plan for the year and outline measures put in place to achieving them.

The retreat will enable the heads to take stock of the previous year’s activities and engage in in-depth discussions on issues pertaining to their sectors, challenges and prospects.

The feedback received would feed into the Ministry’s main retreat slated at the end of the first quarter of the year.

The Deputy Minister said the platform would allow the heads to fine-tune the key performance indicators set for them and help them to meet targets.

He, therefore, entreated them to work closely with one another to achieve the Ministry’s objectives.

Professor Peter Agbesinyale, the Chief Director of the Ministry, urged the agencies to work towards improving upon last year’s performance and meet their targets for this year.