The Ghana Mineworkers Union of the Trades Union Congress intends to invest and operate in real estate and supermarket businesses in a drive to increase the fortunes of members. General Secretary, Prince William Ankrah says the Union will leverage on membership strength to establish ‘Fair Price Shops’ across the country, whilst partnering the State Housing Company to venture the housing business. “We have a few plots across the length and breadth of the country and so in terms of asset deployment, it’s not a problem and it is also a beef to help the State Housing resurgence so that we’ll be able to use them to see how far they can augment the housing deficit in the country”, he told Luv Biz Report. Timelines for project execution are not finalized but he said the Union will learn from the experience of other mineworkers unions in the world in their poise to create a clear profitable future for mineworkers in Ghana. Prince Ankrah added that the Union will partner government and the private sector in developing a blueprint to pursue the diversified alternative livelihood ventures. He has also stated that a Housing Trust Fund is being established with the mining companies in a bid to retain the right caliber of staff in Ghana’s mining industry. Over 100 delegates of the Mineworkers Union have gathered in Kumasi for a two-day National Executive Council meeting aimed at discussing ways of strengthening their activities. Prince Ankrah encouraged the government “not to retreat in its quest to ensure that mining receipts and margins are distributed for the benefit of all stakeholders and more specifically to help our struggling economy generate enough to deal with our numerous developmental deficits”. The Union has called for a comprehensive and well thought out national debate on the future of the extractive industries to address the regulatory deficit.