ZAMBIA DELEGATION VISITS MINERALS COMMISSION

A 4-member delegation led by the Mines and Minerals Development Minister, Mr. Paul C. Kabuswe has paid a day’s working visit to the Minerals Commission, Ghana to study their operations especially in the Small-Scale and Artisanal mining sector.

Welcoming the entourage, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi remarked that, there is a historical antecedent to the relationship between the two countries since Kwame Nkrumah and Kenneth Kaunda’s era, therefore it’s no strange for the Minister to choose Ghana and for that matter the Minerals Commission as their point of studying the management and utilization of minerals resources and more importantly the Small-Scale mining in Ghana.

Mr. Ayisi walked the Minister and his entourage through the mandate of Commission and how it regulates the industry in Ghana, the robustness of the system when it comes to mining laws and the compliance regime which some African Countries like Sierra Leone and Tanzania have adopted.

He further noted that, Ghana has highly skilled mining professionals who are among the most sought after in the global mining industry. “Our public Universities also provide dedicated courses in minerals and mining and the Minerals Commission complements this with competency-based continuous training and development programmes for our mining professionals” he emphasized.

 A presentation on the management of Ghana’s Small-Scale Mining was delivered by the Director, Small-Scale & Industrial Minerals of Minerals Commission to the delegation.

The Zambian Minister of Mines on his part expressed satisfaction of the visit as it has afforded the delegation the opportunity to share ideas and learn more about Ghana’s mining sector and the regulatory regime especially.

He was hopeful these new experiences shared by the Commission will go a long way to help his Ministry to incorporate new ideas in developing their minerals resources development agenda. “Zambia has a lot of manganese and it’s one of the best in the world” says the Minister Kabuswe. According to Mr. Kabuswe, there is the need to restructure and formulate policies that will enable his countrymen to feel and own the minerals.