Participants in a group picture after the workshop. INSET: Co-chair of GHEITI, Dr Steve Manteaw
Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr. Steve Manteaw, has called for an urgent review of Ghana’s renewable energy policy to enable the country to capitalize on value chain potential in the mining business.
He claimed that the country has failed to implement the necessary policies to reap the most benefits from renewable energy, despite the fact that the renewable energy sector has enormous potential.
Dr. Manteaw expressed his displeasure with some provisions in the country’s renewable energy policy during a regional stakeholders’ dissemination workshop in Sunyani on the GHEITI 2020 Reports on the mining and oil and gas sectors.
According to him, these provisions has slowed the country’s transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
Representatives from Municipal and District Assemblies, Heads of Department, Agencies, and Civil Society Organizations attended the workshop, which was organized by the Ministry of Finance and the GHEITI with support from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ).
He stated that the GHEITI had discovered approximately 51 local contents in the mining, oil, and gas sectors, and that Ghanaians can take advantage and create jobs, which can generate revenue for the government through taxes.
“Markets even exist in the West African Sub- region for activated carbons so why can’t government come out with policies to connect the linkages so that we get multiple benefits from the country’s resources,” he stated.
He campaigned for gold and jewelry festivals in the country to increase trade in the industry and produce cash and revenue for Ghanaians. The sector can benefit from the Continental Africa Trade Area.
Justina Owusu Awo Banahene, Bono Regional Minister, highlighted the importance of natural resources from the extractive industry to the economy, particularly the role performed by the Bono Region.
She praised GHEITI for the hard work that goes into annual reports to guarantee that industry players follow the correct ethics in order to generate wealth for the communities where these minerals are produced.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee