We will introduce cooperative mining to increase local participation - Mahama

The next government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will introduce the Cooperative Mining Policy to promote local participation and increase benefits to mining communities, Former President John Dramani Mahama said at the weekend.

Addressing the Tong-Raan Kugbilsong Nalebgetang, the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, the chiefs, Tindaanas and people of the Talensi Constituency as part of his campaign tour, the former President said the move was to create more opportunities for local people to benefit from their resources.

Under the Cooperative Mining Policy, the new NDC intends to facilitate the forming of cooperatives comprising local people who would be trained, registered and given green-fields concessions to undertake gold mining activities.

The idea is to help create jobs for young people in the mining industry through sustainable mining activities that protect the environment and increase the benefits to be derived from local communities.

“Gold mining has started in this area, there are two major mining companies working here and there are a lot of young people interested in doing mining so the cooperative mining policy will allow the local people to benefit from the resource that God has blessed you with,” he said.

Apart from that, Mr Mahama noted that his administration would ensure that the large-scale mining companies operating in the communities prioritised the training and employment of local people in their operations to reduce unemployment and fight illegal mining.

The NDC Presidential Candidate in the 2024 election promised to strengthen stakeholder collaboration and institutions to make sure that the large-scale mining companies paid the necessary royalties and honoured their corporate social responsibilities to the local people.

“They cannot just come and mine and take the resource away without giving something back to the communities. So, we are going to hold them to their corporate social responsibility so that they invest to improve the lives of the people in the community in which they are operating,” he said.

The former President explained that the previous NDC administration began working on the major roads and other projects in the district but could not complete some of them before it lost power in 2016 and since then the projects had stalled.

He promised to complete them, including the E-Block at Yameriga to increase the infrastructure base of the district to propel development.

He urged the constituents to make a change in the December 7 polls for the NDC to return to power to reset the country and drive the needed progress for job creation.

Tong-Raan Nalebgtang, who blessed the former President, urged him to fulfil the promises made and prioritise the development of the area when NDC returned to power in 2025.