By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, Nov. 16, GNA – The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources will soon table a draft Legislative Instrument before Parliament for consideration towards the operationalisation of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority’s (GGSA) Act, 2016 (Act 928).
The legislative Instrument (L.I), upon its passage, will enable the GGSA to be more responsive to the country’s industrial development agenda and contribute meaningfully towards its socio-economic advancement.
Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, announced this at the launch of the GGSA’s 110th Anniversary in Accra, on Thursday.
The year-long celebration will be held on the theme: “Ghana’s Sustainable Industrial and Socio-Economic Development: The Pivotal Role of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority”.
A number of activities have been lined up, including public lectures, symposiums, exhibitions, seminars and an international conference to climax the celebrations.
The GGSA Act mandates the Authority to carry out systematic geological mapping, assessments, monitoring and evaluation of geological hazards and risks.
It also enables the Authority to collect and manage geoscientific information and data, undertake research in the field of Geosciences and for the exploration, exploitation and protection of the nation’s geological and natural resources and offer geoscientific services.
Mr Duker charged the Management and staff of the GGSA to continue to strengthen collaboration through stakeholder engagements with the metropolitan, municipal and district
assemblies, traditional authorities and other government agencies to make the implementation process of the Act successful.
“There is also the need for the GGSA to expand its outreach programmes to educate communities on natural disasters and natural resources management, as well as schools so that young people can learn about them at an early stage.
“It is safe to expect that the 110th anniversary of GGSA will usher in changes to many aspects of the Authority, the future success will largely depend on how successfully it provides solutions to the changing needs of our country,” he added.
The Deputy Minister was confident that the GGSA would gain strength in its journey as it continued to build on its past successes and adapt itself to the ever-changing global landscape in the practice of Geosciences through partnerships and collaborations.
Mr Isaac Kuuwan Mwinbelle, the Acting Director-General, GGSA, on his part, said the Ghana Geological Survey Authority began as the Gold Coast Geological Survey in 1913 during the Colonial Administration and metamorphosed into the Geological Survey Department until it was upgraded as an Authority.
Since its inception till date, it has played a pivotal role in identifying various mineral resources such as gold, bauxite, manganese and diamond as well as other useful metallic resources like lithium, iron, nickel, zinc and columbite and industrial minerals like kaolin, salt, granite, limestone and silica, he stated.
With the pivotal role the Authority had played over the years, he said, Ghana had become a force to reckon with in terms of investment opportunities in the natural resource sector and, thus, called for continued support from government to realise its mandate.
Mr Mwinbelle said the Authority would soon unveil its 10-year strategic plan and activities it intends to implement to advance the country’s industrial transformation agenda.
He pledged the Authority’s commitment to invest in cutting-edge technology towards achieving its mandate as a repository of geoscientific information and data for state agencies, developers and academia.
GNA