Unreliable power supply, a key challenge – Chamber of Mines
Unreliable power supply remains a key challenge to the sustainability of the mining industry in Ghana, Mr Kwame Addo Kufuor, the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, has said.
Speaking at the opening session of a three-day 11th West African Mining and Power Conference in Accra, Mr Kufuor said the unstable power supply had led to the spending of about 20 per cent of mineral revenues on power alone.
He said in 2015, $314 million was spent by the mines on power supply, representing an increase of about 20 per cent of mineral revenue earned.
Mr Addo Kufuor called on government and stakeholders to help foster confidence in the sector.
Nii Osah Mills, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, in a speech read on his behalf, highlighted the key roles of mining in sustainable development, through a contribution to investment and economic growth, employment and personal income generation, and government revenue by way of royalties, taxes, property rates and foreign exchange generation.
Nii Osah Mills said the mining industry also transfers technology to other industries and also contributes to infrastructure development.
Available data indicates that total investment into the mining sector from 1980 to 2015 was some US$16 billion as the sector currently contributes 14 per cent of government domestic revenue as captured by the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Domestic Tax Division.
On the country’s mining environment, the minister said the country had the requisite environment that serious investors needed.
This, he said, includes the availability of abundant resources with basic geo-scientific data, political stability, an attractive investment framework, a legislative and institutional framework to reduce corruption and to enforce the rule of law and transparency in the management of mineral resources.
“Government will continue to work at improving its facilitation role while working with all other stakeholders towards achieving sustainable investments in the sector. I challenge all other stakeholders to play their part so that we can foster sustainable development through mining,” he said.
Mr Kweku A. Awotwi, an energy and power expert, said the energy crisis had left the mining industry uncertain of the future.
He said for a capital intensive business such as mining, the uncertainty about the security and stability of power supply impacted significantly on investment.
Source: GNA