The Ghana Chamber of Mines has called for prioritization of improved collaboration among all stakeholders in the mining sector in the coming year.
This, the chamber says, will ensure sustained growth of the sector, which continues to be a key driver of economic growth in the country.
According to the 2020 budget Statement and Economic Policy, industry as a sector grew by 8.4 percent and 6.1 percent in the first and second quarters of 2019 respectively.
In the first quarter the leading growth performer under industry was Mining and Quarrying which grew by 20.9 percent. In the second quarter, Mining and Quarrying was again the best performing sub-sector with a growth rate of 14.0 percent, followed by Manufacturing with 7.4 percent.
Speaking on the prospects of the Mining sector going forward in 2020, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koney said for the sector to continue with its impressive performance in 2020, better collaboration among stakeholders as well as a stable business climate are needed.
“Our mining industry thrives on certainty, and it’s important that we minimize surprises. And that requires that we actually engage continually with our various stakeholders especially policymakers so that we don’t have the kind of surprises that will dampen the spirit of would-be investors.”
On his part, the President of the Chamber Eric Asubonteng said deepening engagements among all stakeholders is the only way to consolidate the gains of the mining sector.
“Engagement is something that we cannot have enough of. It happens, but what we’re saying is that we have to deepen it and make it more proactive. And we want the engagement to be a regular thing that happens between ourselves, government and other stakeholders.”
New Chamber Building
The leadership of the Chamber shared their comments on the sidelines of the inauguration of the newly built secretariat for the Ghana Chamber of mines.
The disability-friendly ultra-modern chamber building is expected to help in shaping activities of the chamber as it contributes to the mining sector. The chamber building which has three conference rooms in addition to a boardroom also houses a mining library as well as a miniature mining museum among others.
The dedication of the facility was done by Dr. Joyce Aryee, the former CEO of the Chamber with assistance from Mr. Benito Owusu Bio, Deputy Minister for Land and Natural Resources.
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