Building local capacity in the mining industry in Ghana is the surest way to sustain the industry, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has stated.
“In building capacity, you must pay particular attention to building local capacity which is one of the most important policies of the government for the mining industry,” he told mining companies.
The Minister, who was addressing the fifth Annual Conference of the Ghana Chamber of Mines on Human Resource Management at Obuasi, underlined the need to build a human resource base with strong local content and local participation that responded to the future needs of the industry.
The conference, which was on the theme: “Transforming People Management for a Sustainable Mining Industry,” was to create a platform for the mining industry to celebrate achievements and highlight the challenges, which confront the industry, employers and labour.
The conference, which was jointly put together by the Chamber and AngloGold Ashanti, also provided opportunity for industry players to discuss how to achieve a more sustainable and strong human resource base to stimulate development and growth.
Mr Jinapor said the vision of the President was to make Ghana the mining hub of Africa, where mining and mining related activities, from exploration to downstream production, and from research to innovation would be centred.
“As Human Resource Professionals in the mining industry, you must familiarise with the requirements of Legislative Instrument 2431, particularly the localisation programme for the recruitment and training of Ghanaians,” he said.
He said building the capacity of employees was not only for the benefit of the organisation but the country at large, adding that, a motivated and efficient workforce increased productivity and by extension improved the national economy.
Mr Sulemanu Koney, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber, said effective people management was intrinsically linked to corporate performance and sustainability, hence the need for human resource practitioners to constantly update themselves on managing employees.
He said human resource was the central pillar of any organisation’s success, and that the Chamber was keen to see the attraction and retention of the best talent in the industry.
The industry, he noted, could be productive and sustainable with the confluence of research, attraction and retention of the right talents and skills.
“We will, therefore, continue to support academia through the Chamber’s Tertiary Education Fund to develop the right pipeline of talent and skills for our industry, and for Ghana as a whole,” he assured.
The CEO emphasised that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles were taking centre stage globally in corporate performance considerations, saying, industry players, particularly, human resource professionals, could underestimate the critical role of social and governance issues in their respective organisations.
Mr Eric Asubonteng, Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, who chaired the opening session of the conference, said the industry needed to be proactive in strengthening the employer value proposition from the human resource perspective.
This, he said, could be achieved with a radical approach to attracting, retaining and nurturing talents.
“Human resource practitioners must, therefore, intensify efforts to transform the industry through comprehensive people management practices and find innovative ways to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of our people,” he stated.
