UMAT trains district mining officers
The Minerals Commission (MINCOM) of Ghana has contracted the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) at Tarkwa in the Western Region to train district mining officers of the commission, district mining committees, officers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the executive members of the Ghana Association of Small Scale Miners (GASSM).
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Already, a total of 115 people have undergone a four-week training programme, which has the purpose to build the capacities of the participants to enable them to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently.
The Minerals and Mining Act 2016, (Act 703), stipulates that there should be district mining committees which are made up of eminent chiefs, district officers of MINCOM as well as officials of the EPA to help in the management of small-scale mining at the district level, hence the decision by the commission to provide the platform for the training programme.
So far, 30 of the committees have been formed with 24 formally inaugurated by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, leaving the remaining six from the northern sector of the country to be inaugurated in due course.
The range of courses included land surveying and applied geographic information systems (GIS), mineral exploration and evaluation methods, elements of mining, mineral processing, water resources management and environmental health and safety management.
The other subject areas were corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, continental mining vision, national mining policy, legal frameworks and mine management, among other sectors.
After assessing the training needs of its mining officers in the various districts, MINCOM then requested the university authorities to also examine the training requirements of the other bodies and draw up a corresponding training programme to remedy the gaps.
World Bank programme/ceremony
The programme, which is being supported through a technical assistance programme by the World Bank, also has the objective of supporting critical areas of three main sectors, namely mining, environment and forestry, under the Natural Resource and Environmental Governance (NGREG) programme.
The first component of NGREG focuses on supporting policy-making and knowledge management while the second component aims to strengthen institutional capacity to assist sustainable natural resources and environmental management, thereby allowing key agencies to effectively deliver key services.
At a short ceremony to welcome the participants to the training workshop, the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of MINCOM, Mr Richard Kofi Afenu, indicated that mining was very important for national development.
He said the commission was, therefore, committed to ensuring that responsible mining was carried out all the time, adding that the exploitation of the country’s mineral resources was not a bad activity in itself but rather it ought to be done for the benefit of the current and future generations.
Mr Afenu expressed regret over the way river bodies in the country were being destroyed as a result of illegal mining (galamsey) operations by both Ghanaians and foreigners alike, and therefore called on all to help salvage the situation since ‘‘Ghana is the only country we have. ’’
Facilities
The Pro Vice Chancellor of UMaT, Prof. Sulemana Al-Hassan, on behalf of the Vice Chancellor expressed the university’s appreciation to MINCOM for the opportunity offered UMaT to carry out such an important assignment, given the damning effect of illegal mining activities on the environment.