Full Text - 2026 Local Content Summit: Minister for Lands and Natural Resources
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Your Excellency, John Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Kobina Nketsiah, President of the Western Region and our Chairman for this occasion, Honourable Ministers of State, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr. Isaac Tandoh, CEO of the Minerals Commission, Captains of Industry, Policymakers and Stakeholders, Friends from the Media, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning, First of all, as a proud son of the soil, allow me to welcome you to the capital of the most beautiful region of Ghana, where only the best comes from. To have this distinguished convergence of the brightest minds, the most experienced hands, and the most committed hearts in Ghana's mining sector, all gathered here today under one roof, is truly special. Thank you all for making time to honour our invitation, to share ideas, to build meaningful networks, and to appreciate the landscape within which we operate. Your Excellency, Mr. President, permit me to begin by expressing our profound gratitude for your thoughtful and visionary leadership. Your Reset Agenda has given renewed hope and direction to Ghana's march toward economic sovereignty. This we have seen and felt in your unwavering commitment—a commitment that has brought every one of us here today—to ensuring that Ghanaians own, participate in, and benefit from the wealth beneath our feet. With the courage of conviction and the clarity of purpose that define your leadership, you constantly remind us that the resources God has deposited in Ghanaian soil are only meant to build schools, hospitals, roads, and industries right here at home and nowhere else. For that, we say thank you, Your Excellency. situs slot777 madridtoto I also wish to commend the Minerals Commission, under whose diligent stewardship this vision has been translated into action. To the CEO and his entire team, you have taken His Excellency's charge and run with it. You have understood that regulation is not merely about policing compliance but about catalysing transformation. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Ghana's mining sector is not a newcomer to the story of Ghana’s development. From the rich gold belts of Obuasi, Tarkwa, and Prestea, to the manganese deposits of Nsuta, the bauxite riches of Awaso and Nyinahin, and iron, cobalt, and several other mineral deposits waiting to be harnessed, Ghana sits on some of the most enviable mineral endowments on the African continent. For over a century, we have dug deep into the earth, extracting these minerals to fund infrastructure, support livelihoods, and contribute significantly to our foreign exchange earnings. Today, mining contributes about 43% of our total merchandise exports and employs millions of Ghanaians directly and indirectly. But here is the uncomfortable truth, ladies and gentlemen: despite all this wealth, the mining sector has largely operated as an enclave. It has existed alongside our economy, but not fully within it. We have been prolific producers, yet passive participants. The value has flowed through our hands, but too much of it has settled elsewhere. Why should our local businesses, despite their immense potential, capture less than 40% of the procurement spend in a sector that generates billions of cedis in expenditure annually? Why should over 70% of high-value services—engineering design, equipment supply, and specialized technical support—still be sourced from outside our borders? This is the gap we are here to close. The truth of the matter is, we have the talent and the will. I have seen it in the eyes of young Ghanaian engineers in our mining towns—brilliant minds who can diagnose complex problems but oftentimes lack the partnerships to build the solutions. What we seek is a structured, intentional, backed-by-capital-and-technology opportunity—the kind that transforms potential into performance. This is precisely where the power of partnership comes in. Just imagine, for a moment: When a Ghanaian fabrication company enters into a joint venture with an international engineering firm, the result is not just a contract fulfilled. It is knowledge transferred, skills upgraded, and confidence built. When a local technology startup partners with a mining multinational to develop a drone-based ore monitoring solution, the result is not just cost savings for the mine. It is a Ghanaian innovation that can be exported to mining operations across Africa. When a Ghanaian-owned company holds equity in a mining operation, the result is not just dividends. It is a stake in the nation's future, a voice in decision-making, and a commitment to sustainable practices that outlast any single mining cycle. This is the vision we are pursuing. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah told us, "We must ourselves take advantage of our resources to provide the means for our own development. It is only by so doing that we shall be able to develop the productive capacity of our people and raise the standards of life in Africa." These words, spoken decades ago, still burn with the fire of relevance today. Osagyefo understood that political independence without economic independence was incomplete. He understood that the wealth of our land must serve the welfare of our people. Your Excellency, this is precisely what your Reset Agenda seeks to achieve. This is precisely what local content and indigenisation are all about—not just policies on paper, but progress measured in the lives of our people. For us at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and the Minerals Commission, it is not just talk! Your Excellency, Nana Chairman, I want to assure you that the foundation is already being laid. The Minerals Commission has developed a Mining Local Content and Local Procurement Policy Framework that prioritises Ghanaian participation, not as an afterthought, but as a strategic imperative. The establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle to drive sustainable partnerships and industrialisation is well underway. We are moving, steadily and surely, from policy to practice! But, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me pause here and speak plainly, because this is important, and it must be said with the gravity it deserves. This platform we are creating, this great opportunity we are opening for Ghanaian participation, comes with a solemn warning: We frown on, and we will not condone, any form of fronting using Ghanaians. Let me restate it, the practice where foreign companies hide behind Ghanaian names, using our people as mere masks to satisfy regulatory requirements while retaining all the control and all the benefits, is a theft of opportunity and a betrayal of everything this summit stands for. To my fellow Ghanaian brothers and sisters, do not sell your birthright for crumbs when you can own the bakery. While government can create the enabling environment, provide the policies, incentives, and infrastructure, the onus of supplying entrepreneurial energy, innovations, and partnerships lies with the rest of us—the captains of industry, the entrepreneurs, the investors, the professionals gathered in this room. Ghana is not merely a destination for extraction, but a partner in progress. When you form joint ventures with Ghanaian companies, when you invest in local supplier development, when you share technology and train our people, you are not just fulfilling a regulatory requirement. You are building a sustainable future for your own operations because a prosperous, skilled, and empowered local community is the best guarantee of operational stability. To our Ghanaian entrepreneurs and businesses: We have opened the door, the opportunity is here, and it is real. But with opportunity comes responsibility, and we must rise to the challenge of quality, efficiency, and innovation. We must invest in our own capacity, professionalise our operations, and meet global standards. The time has come to earn contracts because we are competent and competitive—not merely because we are Ghanaian. Nananom, our traditional leaders, your role in this transformation is indispensable. We commit to strengthening community engagement processes and ensuring that development agreements deliver tangible benefits to your people. So, we invite you to hold us accountable and partner with us to ensure that mining communities are not just sites of extraction but centres of genuine development. Ladies and gentlemen, these minerals are finite. But the capabilities we build, the industries we establish, the partnerships we forge, those can be infinite. They can outlast the mines, outlive the deposits, and become the enduring legacy of this generation. That is why we must move beyond compliance to commitment, beyond business-as-usual to bold transformation. As we deliberate over these two days, let us ask ourselves these questions: • How do we ensure that the gold we mine is refined here, crafted here, and becomes the foundation for a thriving jewellery and manufacturing sector—a sustainable economic cushion for generations to come? • How do we ensure that our lithium deposit powers not just electric batteries in other countries, but industries and jobs right here in Ghana? • How do we ensure that the thousands of young Ghanaian engineers and mining professionals have the partnerships, the technology, and the opportunities to build the future they dream of? Your Excellency, Nananom, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very optimistic, not because I think the path is easy, but because I know that the people in this room have the power to make it possible. Now is the time for integrated, inclusive, indigenised mining that will secure our future! Thank you.