The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has endorsed President John Dramani Mahama’s reset agenda, describing the government’s push to add value to Ghana’s mineral resources locally as a necessary step towards economic transformation.
According to him, the agenda, which seeks to move Ghana away from exporting raw minerals towards domestic processing and value addition, remains relevant despite the controversies surrounding the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
Speaking on behalf of the Asantehene at the Mining in Motion conference on Monday October 19, Nana Okyere Kusi Ntrama, Essumejahene, said the government’s approach to mineral governance could help Ghana break the cycle of poverty by retaining more value from its natural resources.
He noted that President Mahama’s reset agenda, announced shortly after assuming office, places greater control over the country’s mineral wealth and the development of local processing capacity at the centre of its economic ambitions.
He added that, the focus on what Ghana produces from its mineral resources, rather than merely exporting them in their raw state, reflects a long-standing national aspiration to use natural wealth to drive industrial development.
“Over the past year, the controls of the new agenda have become whatever we make of the minerals in the ground and the government’s mineral policies. Regardless of the controversies surrounding the Gold Board, there should be no doubt that the nature of the President’s reset agenda takes us right back to the very foundation of our republic, when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah sought to harness our minerals and move to establish a gold refinery in Tarkwa,” he said.
Nana Okyere Kusi Ntrama said the current direction of mineral policy provides an opportunity for Ghana to build on that legacy by strengthening domestic value addition and ensuring the country derives greater economic benefits from its resources.
