Four industry players in the mining sector honoured

The Ghana Mine workers union as part of the 75th anniversary has honoured four personalities with platinum awards for their significant roles in shaping the mining sector of the country.

The personalities were Mr Sam Jonah, Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited, Professor Akilakpa Sawyerr,

Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Mr Sam Poku, Former Executive Director of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Mr Kofi Ansah, Former CEO of the Minerals Commission.

The occasion was held last Thursday (Dec 5) in Accra.

Attract investors

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney commended that awardees for their remarkable contribution to the mining sector, stating that their effort were part of the reason why the sector had reach such a height.

He therefore urged worker in the sector to emulate the awarded personalities to ensure a sustainable industry, indicating that that would help attract investors.

“We cannot be oblivious of the fact that the journey towards greater value for mineworkers has not been the smoothest. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that Ghana maintained its position as a key minning destination for investors globally,” Mr Koney said.

Appreciation

He further expressed his appreciation to the union for their immense contribution to the adoption of standards for workforce training and skills development, he said their significant role had enabled the workers to be relevant to the industry and as well as the economy.

Mr Koney further urged them to continue with their collaborative efforts in creating the right opportunities for mining professionals to ensure that they continued to be the cutting edge of the industry.

He as well urged the workers to strive to enable them attract and maintain the highest skilled labour and minimize turnover through partnership with training institutions as well as regulatory bodies.

Government committment

Chief Director at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Professor Patrick Abgesinyale also commended the management committee and the entire membership of the union who had deemed it appropriate to recognise the doyens of the industry, adding that ‘It has been said that a nation that does not recognise its heroes is not worth dying for, therefore, this is clearly in the right direction.”

He said government was appreciative of the conducive environment created by the harmony among the stakeholders and therefore assured them that, they were going to continue working with them to help improve the sector.

In that light, he said government had taken note of their concern and desires to maximise the level of benefit derived by local human, as well as other resources as much as possible.

Mr Abgesinyale said they were going to undertake constructive engagement with labour to ensure that they achieve a mutual beneficial objective.