By Felix Coffie
A 5-member Ministerial Committee of Inquiry established to review the Health and Safety regime in the mining sector has presented its report to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor. The establishment of the Committee is in pursuant to Section 100 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) to help bring reforms that will improve health and safety systems and reduce accidents in the mining sector. Mr Jinapor said the government will thoroughly study the report and pursue the findings and recommendations provided by the team.
“Government is going to take the findings and recommendations of this report very seriously and we are going to pursue them in the future. Of course, we will study the report and make our own conclusions and views about the content of the report”. “I have no doubt that if not all, most of the findings and recommendations which have been made by this Committee will be taken on board and implemented”, he indicated.
Mr. Abu Jinapor said considering the expertise of the Committee Chairperson and members, he is confident that the findings provided will indeed be an invaluable asset which will guide matters to do with the Health and Safety regime of the mining sector in Ghana.
He said the recommendations would be implemented to ensure that the Appiatse incident does not reoccur.
“What we want to ensure is a mining sector which is fit for purpose, which is serving the people, contributing to the national economy and which is safe so that we do not have a recurrence of Appiatse and that’s exactly what we want to forestall”, he stressed.
The Minister reiterated the commitment of President Akufo-Addo’s government, to be utterly transparent in the management of the Lands and Natural Resources of the country saying that the Ministry will continue to serve the nation in the context of the best standards of integrity and fidelity.
Presenting the report, Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Richard Amankwah who doubles as Vice-Chancellor of the George Grant University of Mines and Technology ( UMaT) disclosed that they sent out 20 letters to various entities and professional bodies to source information which will aid their investigative work to which some responded.
He added that to get the job done, they also engaged captains in the industry who gave presentations to the Committee on explosives, fire suppression, and systems to track the movement of explosives in the country.
He said he believes that the findings and recommendations made are broadly appropriate, however considering the dynamic nature of the mining industry, it will be suitable if these findings are reconsidered every now and then and tweaked to bring it up to speed to the changing trends of the industry.
The Lands Minister set up the Committee on 7th February 2022 following the Appiatse explosion which claimed thirteen (13) lives and destroyed an entire Appiatse Community.
The other members of the Committee are Prof. Grace Ofori-Sarpong, a Professor representing the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ms. Effie Oppong-Fosu, An Associate representing the Ghana Bar Association, Mr. Benjamin Aryee, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, and Mr. Kwesi Enyan, a former Inspector of Mines, and a former Managing Director of Anglo Gold Ashanti.
