for Development Forum in Accra last Tuesday, Mr Jinapor assured the chamber that the government would go all out to protect their concessions.
He spoke on the theme: “Ensuring the security of operations in Ghana — the role of stakeholders”.
Sustainable interventions
In the interview with the Daily Graphic, the minister stressed that while the use of brute force to flush out recalcitrant illegal miners was non-negotiable, the large-scale mining companies needed to work with the government “to carry the mining communities along”.
Explaining further, he said, the chamber needed to work with the government to implement sustainable interventions in mining areas to reduce the incidence of illegal mining.
For instance, he said, the Community Mining Scheme currently being implemented by the government was a viable solution to illegal mining, which the chamber must support for successful implementation.
Mr Jinapor stressed the need for large-scale mining companies to prioritise the retention of the mining value chain in communities to benefit the local people.
He also urged the mining companies to be more purposeful with their corporate social responsibility programmes in mining communities.
Commitment
The minister assured the chamber that given the crucial role that the large-scale mining sector played in economic growth and overall national development, the government would go all out to address hindrances to their operations.
Mr. Jinapor said in dealing with the illegalities in the legal mining concessions, the government would use both the enforcement and sustainable livelihood approaches.
“Any group which suggests that just by deploying law enforcement agencies will resolve issues of encroachment of large-scale enforcement is making a mistake.
The enforcement is absolutely important, and the principle of carrying the community along is also important,” he said.
Collaboration
The CEO of the chamber, Dr. Koney, said the mining forum would afford the various stakeholders the opportunity to deliberate on the various means of ensuring the protection of concessions and contributing to the community and country’s development.
Dr. Koney called on all stakeholders in the large-scale mining sector to collaborate to deal with the challenges facing the sector.
He commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for its consistent efforts in seeking to address the teething challenges of the large-scale mining firms.
