
Ghana Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured a new bill to establish that the Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminium Development Authority (GIBADA) is not another mining regulatory body. This assurance came from him when the Minerals Commission Board, led by its Chairman S.K. Boafo, paid a courtesy on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

While explaining to the board about GIBADA, the Vice-President said the purpose of establishing this body was to promote and facilitate the development of an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana, so that its economy could shift from being dependent only on the production and exports of raw materials to an industrialised, value added one.
Bawumia said the Minerals Commission will continue upholding its regulatory mandate established under the constitution of Ghana as it used to.
Mr. Boafo, the Chairman of GIBADA said the body is working on restructuring the Commission so that it can effectively perform its functions as a regulator of the country’s mining sector. He further said the realignment of technical officers in the departments of the commission and creation of two additional regional offices of the commission is particularly in progress. Besides, the board is working on increasing existing mining districts from 9 to 12 and intensifying monitoring and inspection of mining and exploration companies, according to Mr. Chairman.
He further indicated some of the key issues in the mining sector that require the Government’s immediate intervention, including the proposal for industrial mineral rights agreements that should be exempted from Parliamentary ratification, massive encroachment of quarry mine sites across the country, and the poor state of railway infrastructure.
Talking over the illegal mining, Bawumia said varied concerns have arrived from many people and chiefs, particularly regarding extensive damage caused to the environment by illegal miners using excavators and Chan fans. He, however, expressed his hope that the matter would be resolved on the launch of the Multi-Sectorial Mining Integrated Project (MMIP).
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