<<Print>>

Ghana's gold extractive industry has matured over the decades, and we applaud the government's measures to develop local capacity, said Gregory Andrews, Australian High Commissioner to Ghana.

He said his country was proud to work hand in hand with Ghana, while it developed the right structures and systems to ensure mining revenues led to economic development and delivered improvements in the living standards of the local people.

Addressing a special session of the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly's meeting held at Ahwetieso, Mr Andrews in a speech read on his behalf said, over the years, Australian mining and mining services companies had contributed directly to the sector, through job creation, knowledge and skills transfer, revenue generation and corporate social responsibility as well as community development projects.

More importantly, Australia prides itself as a key partner for the Ghanaian government in promoting fair, sustainable, and environmentally friendly mining practices that translate into shared wealth and socio-economic development for mining communities, he stated.

According to the High Commissioner, "Those linkages were amplified when the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor addressed a crowd of investors at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town two weeks ago, during an Australian Government hosted event.

It was our pleasure to support the Minister's call for foreign investment in developing new minerals in Ghana. Things to stable governance and a highly educated workforce. We believe the right platforms exist to build on the success of Ghana's gold extraction experience".

He said Australia through its various programmes such as scholarship awards, the former International Mining for Development Centre and its successor, the minerals and energy for Development Alliance, the Australia Africa partnership facility and the cadastral administration system at the Minerals Commission was proud to have contributed over the years to the development of mining in Ghana.

Mr Andrews pointed out that "We have also supported skills development in the sector by providing over 500 mining-related courses, scholarships and fellowships in the last decade, including 375 short course awards, delivered by Universities in Africa and Australia on extractive governance through their studies and experiences in Australia our African alumni transfer best practices, knowledge and cutting-edge skills to the mining industry to the huge benefit of their home countries".

He emphasized that in Ghana they were encouraged by the government's commitment to implement the economic and social reforms required to produce jobs and growth.

"It is not by any means an easy balance to attract investment, while at the same time ensuring a fair return for the Nation under whose soil the minerals lie, but it can be done and Australia is a good example of where this can be achieved", he further said.