The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed the government's commitment to resource some public universities in the country to undertake mineral exploration.
He said the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), UMAT and the Geological Survey Department would be adequately resourced, adding that this would enable the nation to get the optimum benefits from mineral resources.
The Vice-President was speaking at the Third Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small-scale mining organized by UENR at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality on the theme: “Charting our country mining vision and the future of illegal mining.”
The dialogue, among other objectives, sought to mobilise an effective approach in dealing with illegal mining to save the environment and forest cover.
Dr Bawumia said the government was collaborating with relevant institutions and traditional authorities to see the possibilities of formalising or regularising the small-scale mining sector and providing licenses to promote responsible mining as well as facilitate easy identification and operations of the miners.
Small-scale miners would be empowered to contribute significantly to the nation's employment sector, he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UENR, Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako highlighted the devastating impact of illegal mining on the country and called for more actions to help bring the situation under control.
He called on stakeholders, including government agencies, traditional authorities and the academia to collaborate effectively in the fight against illegal mining.
Prof Asare-Bediako noted that the university through its sustainable mining and environmental reclamation programmes was also contributing significantly to the fight against the menace.
Latest Stories
-
Calls for Dame’s resignation or sacking unjustified – Prof Kwame Gyan
12 mins -
Ignore EC’s gerrymandering tactics; monitor votes transfer exercise – NDC to its agents
47 mins -
Amin Adam kicks against Africa’s heavy investment in foreign lands
48 mins -
Anyone who stashes so much money at home doesn’t love this country – Ga Mantse
58 mins -
Mahama criticises NPP for presiding over worse road conditions in Ghana’s history
1 hour -
Ensure 2024 election is peaceful – Ga Mantse admonishes EC, other stakeholders
1 hour -
Don’t allow political party agents to observe the votes transfer exercise – EC tells its directors
1 hour -
Inaugural GhIE-Prof. Douglas Boateng Lecture held with emphasis on engineering and industrialisation
1 hour -
AI, journalism and fact-checking in Ghana; navigating the maze
1 hour -
Corruption is everywhere now; deal with it urgently – Ga Mantse to government
1 hour -
Vision FC secure historic promotion to the Ghana Premier League
3 hours -
South Africa’s President faces up to poor poll result
3 hours -
Fishing boat capsizes near Ada West, one dead
3 hours -
A closer look at the federal investigation into Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
3 hours -
Former Information Minister John Tia laid to rest in his hometown
3 hours