Coronavirus: Travel ban shouldn't affect operations - Mine workers

The Ghana Mine Workers Union has urged all mining companies to activate travel bans in all forms following the first reported case of coronavirus at Anglo Gold Ashanti Mine over the weekend.

The union’s call follows a confirmation from Anglo Gold Ashanti Mine that one of its employees who tested positive of the virus is a Ghanaian who recently returned from a UK trip.

So far Ghana has recorded six cases.

Speaking in an interview with Class Business, General Secretary of the Mine Workers Union, Abdul Ghamsa said the activation of the travel ban should not bring operations of the mining industry to a halt.

“You know in the mining industry there are quiet a number of expatriates who work in that sector, and for that matter, any ban will mean that such persons may not be readily available to the operations of the sector and that will be a concern. But this also brings about the conversation around localisation and the idea of Geo-transfer.

“With the training programme in place, I’m quite confident that over the period that most of these expatriates have worked in the sector, there have been transfer of skills, and by virtue of the ban operations shouldn’t come to a halt."

There are quite a number of expatriates working in the mining industry which is largely owned by foreigners.