Ghana will continue to share EU’s vision – Minister

Mr John-Peter Amewu, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said Ghana would continue to share the vision of the European Union (EU) to ensure socio-economic growth.

He said this would make the Government to live up to the expectations of the citizenry to ensure economic growth and create job opportunities.

Mr Amewu said this when Mr William Hanna, the Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Ghana, led a three-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on him in Accra on Wednesday.

He said government was looking forward to the EU to support its policies, programmes and projects to enhance its work in the sustenance of a better livelihood for the citizenry.

Mr Amewu said issues of illegal mining was of great concern to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and that the ministry was looking at a framework to deal with the issue and would seek the support of the EU in that respect.

He commended the EU for its support to Ghana’s forestry sector and urged it to continue to support the country in all areas of the economy.

Mr Hanna said Ghana was the first country to be issued the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) License under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the EU to help improve forest governance and promote trade in legal timber products.

He said the FLEGT License may only be issued to timber traceable legal forest operations in line with Legality Assurance Systems (LAS), develop through a participatory process involving civil society, the public and private sector.

Mr Hanna said the EU market was still Ghana’s biggest market and opened for all Ghanaian value added products as consumers in the EU were much concerned about value for money and what they bought.

He appealed to the minister to demonstrate the country’s global leadership by implementing the LAS, not only in the application of wood tracking technology but in the field of forest governance.

Mr Hanna said the issue of land sustainability was very important in the protection of the environment adding that climate change and agriculture were some of the key areas the EU interested in.

He, therefore, called for a holistic approach in dealing with climate change issues.