Mr Hassan Ayariga, the presidential candidate of the All People's Congress has stated that foreign companies will not be allowed to engage in mining activities under his administration as president.

Mr Ayariga who spoke at the JoyNews-IMANI Minority political parties’ debate on Thursday, indicated that only local mining companies will be engaged in the extraction of mineral resources in the country.

"We will make sure we give mining licenses to local Ghanaians. We will not give concessions to foreigners anymore. No foreigner will mine in Ghana under my leadership,” he stated.

According to him, the youth are the driving force of the country and must be supported through mining activities to generate income for themselves.

“I will regulate mining and make sure that the youth of this country get a mining license to engage whether small scale or large scale. We will support them with all equipment to mine so that the royalties in this country stay here," he stated.

Mr Ayariga added that is high time the Ghanaian citizen manages his or her own affairs without dependency on foreign parties.

“We need to begin to understand that our resources, minerals are for us and we must manage it well to be able to sustain Ghana and grow our economy,” he added.