Stakeholders discuss local content in mining sector

Representatives of government, civil society organisations, mining communities, and industry have discussed the governance around local content policies for Ghana’s mining sector, the Australian High Commission, said on Wednesday.

The dialogue was the third in a series of dialogues on mining governance, supported by the Australian Government in partnership with the African Centre for Economic Transformation.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra, quoted the Australian High Commission’s First Secretary for Development Cooperation, Ms Zabeta Moutafis, as saying, “The purpose of this dialogue is to bring together key stakeholders and policy-makers to discuss and build consensus around the complex issues concerning local content in Ghana.

“The extractive sector has a key role to play in transforming and developing Ghana into the future.”

The statement said with substantial expertise in both mining and development, Australia was well-placed to support African countries that wished to overcome the challenges and reap the benefits of a growing mining sector.

It said the dialogue focused on a variety of issues, including designing local content policies that balanced the investment objectives of mining companies with national development goals; reconciling local content policies in mining with regional cooperation initiatives; and the promotion of domestic economic linkages, whilst achieving trade competitiveness.

The discussions highlighted both the challenges and opportunities presented by Ghana’s current framework on local content, with case studies presenting examples of best practices in the region and globally, it added.

They also looked at what tangible opportunities could be provided for local communities and businesses to buy into the mining value chain.

The statement said over 150 participants had been involved in the dialogue sessions to date, representing a wide range of stakeholders in Ghana.