The Member of Parliament (MP) for Amansie West, Mr George Obeng Takyi, has initiated a scheme to project the image of the Manso enclave as a mining hub for economic development.

The scheme seeks to change the narratives about the thriving illegal mining activities in the area by adopting best mining practices to promote sustainable and responsible mining for job creation.

Consequently, a festival dubbed "Sika Afahye" would soon be instituted and celebrated annually to showcase the impact of the paradigm shift and the rich history of mining in the area.

This is expected to boost tourism and also create avenue for the indigenes to explore other non-mining business opportunities to improve the local economy.

Participants at a stakeholders’ forum held at Manso Nkwanta to discuss the initiative praised the MP for the innovative and bold step, and pledged their support for the project.

The forum brought together representatives from traditional authorities, small scale miners, the District Assembly and the academia.

They took turns to make brilliant submissions which they believed would make significant impact when incorporated in the final document that would guide the implementation of the project.

The MP who was highly impressed about the attendance and contributions of the stakeholders, said the project when successfully implemented would change the face of mining in the area.

He said small scale miners had contributed significantly to mining revenues for the State for many years but their operations had often been detrimental to the environment and water bodies.

This, he said, must be streamlined to ensure efficiency and less destructive practices in the operations of small scale miners.

"This is why it has become imperative to mobilize stakeholders to find better ways to mine without destroying the environment and water bodies," the MP stated.

He added that, "we are also looking at institutionalizing the festival to attract tourists to the Manso area annually as means of attracting global attention".

He was positive that the initiative would address the perennial mining irregularities that had put Manso in bad light and serve as model for mining communities in other regions to emulate.