Source: Spy Ghana
Ghana President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday announced that the government would establish two gold refineries to process and add value to the country’s gold before exporting.
He said the establishment of the refineries would not only give the country better value for its gold, but would also create job opportunities for more Ghanaians who would be employed in those refineries.
Mahama announced this when he addressed the Ghanaian community at Worcester in Boston as part of his 10-day official visit to the United States.
Since his arrival, Mahama has addressed the 69th session of the United Nations Assembly, attended and participated in crucial debates pertaining to the economy and governance, held bilateral discussions and engaged the business community with the hope of wooing investment to Ghana and Africa.
Mahama explained that while one of the refineries would be funded by the Precious Minerals Commission, the other one was a foreign direct investment to add value and avoid the perennial exportation of gold in its raw form.
The processing of the gold before exporting, he said, would reduce the risk of losing millions of cedis in the event of any fall of gold prices on the international market.
Mahama said the refineries would also encourage mining companies to carry out their activities throughout the year, unlike the current state when most of them shut up anytime there were falls in prices of the commodity on the international market.
He said, currently, the proceeds of Ghana’s oil was negligible since the whole of last year the country earned a total of $700 million, which was comparatively lower than cocoa and gold.
Answering questions on corruption in Ghana, Mahama challenged all Ghanaians to be upstanding against the practice that had become a canker in the Ghanaian society.
He attributed the situation to institutional weakness that had created loopholes for individuals and organizations to take advantage of.
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