By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, Oct.02, GNA– Tanzanian delegation from the Ministry of Minerals is in Ghana to learn lessons from the country’s Gold Purchase Programme to replicate it in the East African nation.
Mr. Archard Kalugendo, an Assistant Commissioner for Minerals, Ministry of Minerals of Tanzania, led a three-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on Mr. George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines at the Ministry in Accra.
Mr. Kalugendo, the leader of the delegation, said the Tanzanian Government had passed a legislation to make sure all mining companies operating in Tanzania sold about 20 per cent of the gold produced locally to government for value addition.
He said though the new law faced resistance from some mining firms and civil society organisations, the Tanzanian government was determined to implement the legislation.
Mr. Kalugendo believed that having sufficient gold reserves could cushion the local currency to fight the frequent depreciation.
The delegation has already engaged the officials of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and will also engage some agencies under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
During the interactions, Mr. Mireku Duker touted the unique features of Ghana’s mining industry, which had generated sustainable revenue to fund key government initiatives.
He commended the Tanzanian government for taking steps to learn from established and experienced industry like Ghana.
He noted that as an emerging giant in the mining sector, it was imperative that the Tanzanian government opened itself to knowledge-sharing opportunities.
He said Ghana’s mining industry was on the path toward value addition; hence the government of Ghana enacted a law to ensure that 30 per cent of gold produced locally should be sold to the Bank of Ghana for refinery purposes.
“This forms part of the government’s broader ambition of making Ghana the hub of value addition in the West African Sub-region,” he explained.
He also shed light on the Gold for Oil policy, which had been a significant intervention in the efforts to strengthen the local currency.
He commended the Tanzanian delegation for expressing their interest in learning from the innovative policy, noting that it could be a game-changer for their economy.
The Deputy Minister assured the delegation of Ghana’s readiness to share knowledge and experiences with them.
Mr. Kalugendo was accompanied by Mr. Bahati Minja, the Office of Treasury Registrar and Joseph Ngulumwa, a Geologist with the Ministry of Minerals.
GNA