George Mireku Duker, Deputy Lands Minister
A Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, George Mireku Duker, has called on stakeholders, policy makers, traditional rulers and the general public to find ways of translating the country’s natural resources into sustainable development.
He made the call during the final day of the two-day “Natural Resources Stakeholders Dialogue” in Accra, whilst reflecting on Africa’s natural resources potential, which have not manifested in its growth and development
Sharing in the sentiments of President Akufo-Addo, the Deputy Minister regretted that after centuries of exploitation, Africa still holds some 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, and even higher proportions of gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the take away from the President’s speech was that, even though Africa commands about 30% of the world’s natural resources, its development is ironically the lowest in the world. There is, therefore, the need to find ways of translating this share of the world’s natural resource into sustainable development,” he stated.
Resource contributions
He, however, reiterated that the contribution of these resources to the continent’s, and for that matter, Ghana’s socio-economic development has been somewhat awful.
“With all these resources, we should have been the richest continent in the world. The irony, however, is that African remains the poorest continent on the planet. I urge the stakeholders, experts and policy makers present to be guided by such thoughts to enable us come out with ideas to unlock the potential of the country’s natural resources for sustainable development,” he stressed.
He urged them to help forge a common path to manage sustainably the natural resources, add value to them, retain the highest end of the industry, contribute to the national economy, whilst, at the same time, protecting the environment.
He highlighted the role of sustainability in effective use of natural resources, and emphasized the need to embrace sustainable practices in resource use and management to satisfy current demands without ruining the interests of posterity.
Collective efforts
Mr Duker maintained that the bid to harness the country’s natural resources to expand its contribution to the country’s requires an all-hand-on-deck approach.
“Indeed, the President attached great importance to the natural resource governance which is anchored on sustainability and broad based stakeholder collaboration and partnership. This, as he reiterated, informed the organization of the first ever National Dialogue on Small Scale Mining followed by two similar regional ones.
“Since that incipient call for all hands to be on deck, many well-meaning organizations like the Graphic Communications Group have responded favourably. Indeed, he further emphasize that, without Natural Resources, life is impossible and it is the reason why collective responsibility is needed in fighting the irregularities in the sector,” he added.
The Deputy Minister noted with optimism that the forum will result in a revivification of the commitment and dedication to the promotion of responsible natural resource exploitation.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the belief of the President that this dialogue will renew our commitment in promoting sustainable natural resources exploitation for our collective good,” he indicated.
Mr Duker also urged that the conversation be steered in a way that focuses on how Ghana and to a larger extent, Africa can harness its resources to propel its sustainable economic development in the country.
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