Ghana urges Nigeria’s Government to establish Mining Company

Ghanaian government has urged its Nigerian counterpart to consider establishing a national mining company to compete actively with those in the private sector for rapid development of the sector.

The Ghanaian Minister of Land & Natural Resources, John-Peter Amewu, made these comments during a stakeholder’s conference in Abuja.

Amewu said Nigeria should begin to look inwards on establishing various linkages that would fast track development of the solid minerals sector.

“Nigeria should begin to look at the forward linkages and also how it will own its own resources. I see nothing wrong with Nigeria coming up with a national mining company,” he said.

“It should not be a problem for a country to own a mining company. It is our concept and attitude towards work, if you say Nigeria is not capable of handling a mining company then I don’t see why they should be a country. They should be able to manage and be able to do it.”

Amewu encouraged all African countries to follow this strategy. “You should be able to take control of your own country so having a mining company or state mining company I think is the way to go for most African countries.”

The Minister said, African countries should work closely in the mining sector and exchange ideas to effectively harness the potential in the sector. He also disclosed that in Ghana solid minerals sector contributes about 6% of the GDP.

“The mining sector is currently one of the largest in terms of revenue that we generate apart from cocoa production and export, the mining sector contributes significantly to the GDP,” he stated. “Almost about 70 000 pounds of gold was exported out of the country, creating huge employment.”