Work on Minerals Commission office in Kumasi progresses
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has inspected progress of work on the multi-purpose Ashanti Regional office of the Minerals Commission in Kumasi.
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The eight-storey edifice is expected to be inaugurated in October this year. The project consultant, Osei Tutu, said this when the minister paid a working visit to the site to assess the progress of work on the facility.
The project, which is 71 per cent complete, would become the hub of the commission's regulatory and oversight activities in the region and the middle belt of the country.
Significance
Addressing the press after the tour, Mr Jinapor underscored the importance of a fully operational and well-staffed office for the commission to enable it to perform its regulatory duties not only in the Ashanti Region but across the entire middle belt of the country, including the Western North and Central regions.
He said the government had been on the path to decentralise the work of the commission, and that the construction of the Ashanti regional office was evidence of its commitment and dedication to develop the mining sector.
Commendation
“I have to commend the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, the consultants, the contractors and everyone who has worked diligently to ensure that we put up this extraordinary office for the commission.
The project
“If we are going to come to grips with mining, particularly large-scale mining, which contributes significantly to the national economy, as well as small-scale mining, then the Minerals Commission must have the requisite structure, personnel and operational capacity to regulate the sector.
“This government has taken the initiative to ensure that the regulation of mining activities is decentralised, and we are on course,” the minister said. He further said that the project would be the tallest building in Kumasi, adding that it would be a place where rigorous investigations can be conducted into the mining sector.
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"The contractors have given us the assurance that it will be handed over to the government by the end of September, and I’m going to hold them to it. “I will be knocking on the doors of Manhyia to seek the blessings of Otumfuo Asantehene Osei Tutu to commission this project in the first week of October," Mr Jinapor said.
For his part, the CEO of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi, said the project was initially estimated to cost GH¢80 million, and that his outfit had plans to rent out some of the offices in the edifice to generate more revenue.
Context
Since 2021, the Minerals Commission has embarked on an infrastructural development drive nationwide, which has seen a number of edifices being constructed across 10 mining regions in the country as part of decentralisation to bring the services of the commission to the doorstep of stakeholders and also streamline operations in the mining sector.