Minerals Commission To Establish 14 Satellite Offices

The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Mr Kwaku Antwi Boasiako, has announced the commission’s plans to institute 14 satellite offices with the task to improve safety in the mining industry.

According to him, these offices would be established to ensure effective monitoring and inspection of operations in areas where mining activities are predominant.

At a press briefing held in Accra, Yesterday, Mr Boasiako said, “We are not only going to setup satellite stations, we are looking at expanding the districts. So, we are moving from nine districts to 12…we are going to areas that hitherto we have not been there.”

“The satellite stations are supposed to be close as possible to the hotspot, they will give us information, real time information so that we can deal with the issues… it is a rapid response arrangement that we are putting in place,” he added.

In explaining how these satellite stations would function, the CEO said personnel close to the mines with the help of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) would calculate and display accurate location and coordinates of areas where people are doing illegal things.

The information would “be transmitted to the district officers, regional officers and to head officers so we will know what to do at the real time. We want to be all over the mines,” he explained.

We would grow businesses

Meanwhile, the Chairman for the commission, Mr Samson Kwaku Boafo has outlined the vision of the commission since its inauguration in November last year.

Mr Boafo said, the commission had resolved to take the mining sector to a level that will be attractive for investment and safe for the entire mining community.

In keeping this charge, the commission has pledged to do all in its legal power to grow businesses in the minerals sector.

“The minerals and mining sector abounds with lots of investment potential and we are going to provide the necessary investment environment for Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians to invest in the sector to grow the economy of Ghana,” the board chairman guaranteed.

According to Mr Boafo, for business to grow within the sector, timely processing of all mineral rights applications and permits would be done.

With the introduction of an online application and processing system, the commission hopes to reduce delays in the mineral rights application processes.

The commission was however emphatic that, there would be no “corner cuts” and biases to the acquisition of permits.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]