Ensure that mining communities benefit from mineral funds – Abu Jinapor

Samuel Abu Jinapor, the minister of lands and natural resources, has tasked the Minerals Development Fund (MDF) management to wisely use resources flowing to the fund for the advantage of mining communities.

According to him, the government’s efforts to make mining advantageous for citizens depend on the MDF’s mandate.
The minister said, “Failure to fulfill your mission of ensuring the welfare of citizens in mining towns has serious ramifications as it can result in upheavals, as proven from other mining countries in Africa.

The MDF was established to offer development initiatives in mining communities who have suffered from the detrimental effects of mining operations.
It receives 20% of the mining royalties paid by the Ghana Revenue Authority as funding.

According to him, the government’s efforts to make mining advantageous for citizens depend on the MDF’s mandate.
The minister said, “Failure to fulfill your mission of ensuring the welfare of citizens in mining towns has serious ramifications as it can result in upheavals, as proven from other mining countries in Africa.

The MDF was established to offer development initiatives in mining communities who have suffered from the detrimental effects of mining operations.

It receives funding from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), holders of mining leases, 20 percent of the mineral royalties collected from them, money granted by Parliament for the fund, grants, contributions, and gifts, as well as interest from investments made by the MDF Board.

Mr. Jinapor said that although the administrators had done well in terms of providing infrastructure in mining communities, more work remained to be done. He made a working visit to the MDF office in Accra yesterday.

For instance, he added, it was crucial for the MDF to offer the people alternate means of subsistence given the detrimental effects that illegal mining activities have on the citizens in mining areas.

The minister argued that it was crucial to offer viable alternatives to existing livelihoods since doing so would help combat illegal mining.

The MDF Administrator, Dr. Norris Hammah, said the Daily Graphic in March of last year that the Fund’s Secretariat has distributed more than GH500m to recipients since 2017.
He claimed that the money was primarily used on water, health, education, and in mining villages, along with sanitation, agriculture, and other industries.

The Minerals Development Fund Act, 2016 (Act 912) established the fund, in accordance with Dr. Hammah, to provide financial resources for the immediate benefit of mining communities, organizations in charge of the development of the mining industry, as well as traditional and local government authorities.
He added that, of all the revenue streams made available by Act 912, the 20 percent mining royalties had been the only one that had consistently contributed to the fund, despite some early difficulties that had made it difficult to consolidate the gains earned.

The Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947), which placed a cap on the fund’s sole source of income, was also mentioned by Dr. Hammah. The flow of funds deteriorates, making it more difficult to implement development projects.
But he told the visiting minister that his organization has strategic plans to make its impact on the mining community more felt this year.
While praising the minister for ensuring that the MDF has a permanent secretariat, he also asked for more support to help his organization carry out its mandate.