Govt cedes 10% of mineral royalties share to assemblies
The government has ceded 10 per cent of its share of mineral royalties to the district assemblies to undertake infrastructure development in mining communities.
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Hitherto, the government has been entitled to 80 per cent of the royalties, with 10 per cent each going to the Minerals Commission and the local communities.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources,Mr John Peter Amewu, at Ayanfuri in the Upper Denkyira West of the Central Region last Tuesday, underscored his government’s commitment to pursue an agenda to enhance the living conditions of people in mining communities.
Mr Amewu delivered the speech when he inaugurated a resettlement site constructed by the Perseus Mining Ghana Limited for 1,147 people in three communities at Ayanfuri.
The people at Esuajah North, Fetish and Chirawewa all suburbs of Ayanfuri were living within 500 radius of the mining sites which was against the mining law and needed to be relocated.
Resettlement
The relocated site, which sits on a land size of 216.78 acres at Ayanfuri Kurofofrom, has 201 buildings including 187 residential buildings and 12 institutional buildings including two schools, three churches,a 13-unit commercial facility,a community centre, a police station and other social amenities.
It cost Perseus mining $30 million to complete the resettlement process,as well as compensation payments.
Mineral Management Law
The President said the government would push for the enactment of a consolidated Mineral Revenue Management Law similar to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 (Act 815) to guide the use of mineral revenue in strategic sectors of the economy.
He said the government would also be environmentally conscious in granting mining leases to protect the environment and biodiversity.
Small scale mining
President Akufo-Addo promised to streamline the activities of small-scale miners to ensure they operated within the confines of the law.
He commended the company for helping to create 2,340 jobs, which included 899 people from the local community, since its inception in 2011.
Trust Fund
The Chief Executive Officer of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited, Mr Jeff Quartermine, announced that the company had established the Edikan Trust Fund to serve as a medium through which the company would provide financial resources for sustainable development of the communities.
The fund focused on poverty alleviation, advancement of education, promotion of agriculture,health improvement, cultural heritage and sports.
The company has since 2011 contributed $3.9 million into the fund and it is committed to contributing $300,000 annually to augment the fund.
Beyond this, Mr Quartermine said Perseus had provided several interventions to the communities, including building and renovation of schools, boreholes, road maintenance, vocational training of students and scholarships to students.