President Akufo-Addo with members of the Minerals Commission, and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines
President Akufo-Addo says it’s not proper for Africa to remain poor given the fact that most of the world’s precious minerals are produced from the continent.
Speaking at this year’s edition of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world’s largest mining investment conference on Tuesday in Cape Town, South Africa, he said African countries have not always done well in their negotiations with companies that mined her minerals in the past.
He, therefore, appealed to countries on the continent not to give unusual tax and royalty incentives.
The President also urged mining companies not to expect to make extraordinary profits from mining on the continent.
Making reference to a more balanced agreement between AngloGold Ashanti and the Government of Ghana recently, he opined: “As I said at the ceremony, it is my hope and expectation that this time round, under the new management of AngloGold Ashanti, the development of Obuasi will reflect the wealth its soil produces.”
President Akufo-Addo explained that minerals are public resources, for which reason negotiations between countries and companies should be transparent, accessible and easily understood by citizens.
“Communities should be able to examine mining contracts, find out how much revenue has been generated, and how and on what it is being spent,” he said, adding that “the long and bitter experience means both sides, i.e. African governments and mining companies, have to work hard to gain the trust of the people.”
He cited countries like Canada, Australia, the Americas and South Africa which had spectacular examples of considerable wealth created among individuals and corporations as a result of significant discoveries in far-away lands.
“Mining can help rapidly to grow Africa’s manufacturing sector, and be the champion of economic growth on the continent.”
However, he said that could not happen if Africa exports raw minerals to be processed outside.
“We cannot, and should not continue to be merely exporters of raw materials to other countries. The value chain of mineral extraction has great potential for job-creation, and can form an essential basis for the transformation of economies around the continent,” he added.
Value-addition in Ghana
President Akufo-Addo stated: “We have established the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, a public corporation to take charge of the development, with appropriate investors, of the full value chain of our bauxite resources in order to establish an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana.”
“We are also determined to build an integrated iron and steel industry, out of our extensive iron ore and manganese deposits, to serve the needs of our country and region, and to that end Parliament, in its current session, will consider and hopefully, approve the establishment of another public corporation, the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation, which will, with appropriate investors, take charge of this undertaking.”
Likewise, he stated that work was underway to exploit the considerable deposits of lithium in the country, stressing that “we hope to establish, in all these new ventures, an equitable balance between our needs and the needs of the investor community.”
“Africa has made the world rich with our minerals, our gemstones adorn crowns and homes around the world, it is time to make Africa prosperous and enable her people to attain a dignified standard of living,” he averred.