Support mining industry to reduce poverty – Kwame Addo Kufuor

President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Kwame Addo Kufuor has called on government to support the mining industry to create greater value for the economy, which could particularly lift people from poverty to economic independence, support infrastructural advancement, as well as human resource development.

Speaking at the launch of the chamber’s 90th-anniversary celebration at the weekend in Accra, Mr Kufuor emphasised: “It cannot be business as usual. “We, therefore, call on the state to play its role both as a facilitator and a partner of the mining industry to harness the carried opportunities in the sector.”

He said the chamber was keen on making public all such opportunities to benefit Ghanaian businesses and institutions, as it had demonstrated through the recent launch of the local content portal.

“We are committed to ensuring that the industry contributes fairly to community and national development and achievement of improved living standards.”

The chamber contributes 66 percent of gold mined from Ghana and as the biggest contributor of taxes to government.

It called for the rest of the industry (34 percent) to be sanitized.

In 2016, Ghana’s mining sector contributed about GH¢1.6 billion to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), representing 15.8 percent of GRA’s total direct taxes for the year.

Gold Fields and Newmont Ghana were adjudged the largest and second largest taxpayers in Ghana in 2016 by GRA.

The industry accounted for 46 percent of the country’s gross export revenue in 2016, reinforcing its position as the leading source for forex and a major contributor to the country’s balance of payments.

For the first time since 2011, the provisional balance of payments in 2016 recorded a surplus.

This largely reflected an improvement in the trade balance driven by a rise in gold export receipts and a fall in oil import prices.

Producing members of the chamber returned USD 2.3 billion, representing 71 percent of their mineral revenue ($3.2 billion) through the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the commercial banks in 2016.

According to Mr Kufuor, “The chamber recognises the need to explore linkages with other sectors and to support indigenous manufacturing, services and supply companies by moving beyond the legal requirements of local content. In addition, the chamber deems it necessary to establish and strengthen existing partnerships with other industry associations to broaden the discourse on value creation to spur entrepreneurship in the economy.”

Public lectures, production of an anniversary documentary, community outreach programmes and donations to key institutions in the country have been lined up for the chamber’s 90th anniversary themed: “A responsible and sustainable mining industry: a partner for national development.