Build Gold Reserves To Strengthen Currencies – Dr. Bawumia Tells Mining Companies

The vice president of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has stressed the need for central banks on the African continent to build significant gold reserves to strengthen their currencies.

He believes this would also help safeguard economies from external shocks.

Delivering a keynote address at the 16th West Africa Mining and Power Exhibition Conference in Accra yesterday, he advised the central banks to buy what he described as traceable gold at world market prices to increase their gold reserves in view of the volatility of the precious mineral on the world market.

He described as laudable the recent decision by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to purchase more gold from small-scale miners to build Ghana’s gold reserves, whilst urging others on the continent to take a queue.

The Vice President, however, complained that despite Ghana’s rich history of gold mining and exploration for over 100years, it was ranked the sixth gold producing country globally with her gold reserves at 8.7 tonnes while countries like USA and Germany had about 8,000 and 2,000 tonnes gold reserves.

 

The three-day conference and exhibition attracted the ECOWAS Federation of Chamber of Mines, regulators, policy-makers, captains of industry, the diplomatic community and other stakeholders to share ideas, establish partnerships and network towards advancing the mining sector in the West African sub-region.

 

The event was on the theme: “Advancing a Legacy of Sustainable and Responsible Mining through Innovation and Partnerships.”

It is expected that the innovative ideas and solutions proposed by the stakeholders would be collated and action taken to ensure sustainable and responsible mining for socio-economic development.

Dr. Bawumia expressed government’s resolve to build a healthy, sound and viable mining industry.Hetasked the chamber to ensure all the mining components and linkages were firmly established including concession acquisition, corporate management, refinery as well as providing sound upstream and downstream services.

“The large-scale mining firms should work towards establishing a Mining Index for stock exchanges to accelerate sound socio-economic growth,” he said, whilst calling for co-operation between local stock exchange companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Regulators to achieve the set objective.

Dr. Bawumia also emphasised the need for Ghanaians be encouraged and incentivised to own listed green fields for exploration projects.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Sulemana Koney, said the conference would enable the participants to share ideas and help bridge the gap between the mining industry and other business value chain of the mining sector.

President of the chamber, Dr. Eric Asubonteng, urged stakeholders in the mining industry to explore new business opportunities for accelerated national development, especially in the sub-region.

He assured of the chamber’s determination to position Ghana as a hub of mining services in West Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:  Daily Guide Network