The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, has promised to establish a Minerals Development Bank, should he be voted as president in the upcoming December polls. 

According to him, this initiative is poised to revolutionise the financial landscape for mining endeavours within the nation.

Addressing attendees at the 3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small Scale Mining in Ghana, hosted at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Bono Region, Dr Bawumia articulated the core objective behind the proposed minerals development bank.

He stated that the Bank would furnish essential financial support for mining projects across the country. 

Central to this vision is the cessation of the longstanding practice wherein foreign mining corporations repatriate the entirety of their earnings, a dynamic that the implementation of this policy aims to redress.

By championing the establishment of a minerals development bank, Dr Bawumia added that it will galvanize a paradigm shift in Ghana's mining sector, fostering an environment conducive to sustainable growth and equitable economic participation. 

“We also want to, as I said, in collaboration with the relevant state institutions like MIIF, PMMC, the Bank of Ghana, the private sector and others, we want to establish a minerals development bank to finance viable local mineral projects and to mitigate foreign financing of local mining projects, which leads to heavy smuggling of the produce afterwards," he said.