By Yussif Ibrahim
Obuasi (Ash), Oct. 18, GNA – The Ghana Chamber of Mines in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine and Mac Mining and Construction Partners, has held the fifth Mining Industry Marketing Expo in Obuasi with a focus on strengthening local content in the industry.
Key stakeholders in the mining sector value chain across the country who attended the event deliberated on how to reposition the mining support services in a bid to strengthen local content in the mining industry.
“Repurposing Local Content for Economic Transformation,” was the theme for the two-day event.
The expo gave stakeholders opportunity to interact to find appropriate means to strengthen the operations of local businesses in the mining space.
To industry players, strengthening the local content regulation will empower local businesses to compete favorably with their foreign counterparts.
Mr. Elijah Adansi-Bonah, the Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi, described the theme for the event as apt stressing that it was in tandem with ongoing efforts to transform the local economy to ensure that Ghanaians benefited meaningfully from the wealth created through natural resources.
He said the participation of Ghanaian owned businesses in the mining value chain was critical to the survival of Obuasi as a mining town.
“Our goal is to accelerate progress and ensure that Obuasi benefits from years of commercial mining.
Mr. Suleman Koney, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said due to the complexities in industrial procurement there was the need to expand the scope to include wide range of professionals who may invariably be a part of decision-making unit to have a conversation.
He said it was the job of the Chamber to address the challenges suppliers faced, adding that, structures around local content regulation must be improved just like how it works in other countries.
Mr. Koney said the chamber had a memorandum of understanding with the Ghana Standards Authority as the regulator to validate inputs of suppliers including electrical inputs.
“The idea is to make sure that the real value of mining stays in the country and not only employment,” he stated.
Mr. Awie Frey, Head of Operations, AngloGold Ashanti, said it was important to recognise the evolution in the mining industry driven by technological advancement.
He said the support services played critical role in achieving the objectives of the mining industry especially at AngloGold Ashanti as a backbone of their operations, indicating that, they provided expertise and resources to maximise efficiency.
Mr. Seth Quaye, Chief Operating officer of Mac Partners Group LLC, said such platforms provided players in the industry the opportunity to interact with other stakeholders to identify the right approaches to deal with the challenges in the sector.
He said regulators apart from guiding local companies on compliance issues also had a role to play in making sure that everybody within the mining support services space benefitted equally in the country.
GNA