The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has intimated that the corrupt activities which prevented the state from accruing the maximum funds from the assaying of gold will no longer exist.
Delivering the key note address at the launch of the digitalized National Assay Laboratory in Accra, Dr. Bawumia stated that the digitalization of the operations of the Laboratory is yet another milestone delivered by government with respect to its drive to ensure efficiency in the mining sector.
“This ties in with government’s agenda which I have been privileged to spearhead under the auspices of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The goal of this whole agenda is to streamline governance by reducing the human interface and making the process more efficient.”
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Alhaji Dr. Bawumia who expressed delight with the new digitized laboratory indicated that reducing the human element in the gold assaying process does not only reduce the risk of corruption but also strengthen the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) to execute with precision its core duty.
The Vice President further noted that the fight against the smuggling of gold which proved to be an insurmountable task by past administrators will be quelled by the digitization of the laboratory.
“Digitalization has now made it possible to generate assay certificates which have unique security features. These unique features will make it difficult to follow by gold scammers to facilitate their dubious activities.”
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
According to the Vice President, digitalization has also made it possible to monitor in real time gold passing through the assay laboratory. He noted that it has improved collation of timely data on gold export and revenue to aid national economic planning.
The Vice President, eulogized the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Jinapor for his relentless efforts in actualizing government’s dream of digitalizing the National Assay Laboratory.
Alhaji Dr. Bawumia also commended the board and management of PMMC for its role in the successful implementation of digitalizing the operations of the PMMC.
Digitalized Laboratory a stride made by MLNR
Also speaking at the launch, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, stated that the digitalized assay laboratory is yet another stride made by the Ministry in its quest to have the country optimize revenue generation in the precious mining sector.
Samuel Jinapor disclosed, among other things, the establishment of a gold refinery factory, securing a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Certification and the implementation of far-reaching policies in the small-scale mining sector as some of the achievements chalked by the Ministry.
These policies, Honorable Jinapor explained are not limited to the mining sector but every aspect of the country’s natural resources.
“We are doing all these, as part of measures to make the Lands and Natural Resources sector of our country fit for purpose, for the benefit of Ghanaians.”
Samuel Abu Jinapor
According to him, the exploitation and utilization of Ghana’s mineral resources must, therefore, benefit the people of Ghana, the true owners of these minerals.
Honorable Samuel Jinapor stated that the Digitalized National Assay Laboratory ties in with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s vision for the gold sector and that trustees of the country’s mineral resources can at any time, irrespective of their location, monitor gold exports.
The Digitalized National Assay Laboratory, Mr. Jinapor stated, aligns perfectly with this vision and will provide real time information of gold exports, for monitoring and planning.
“It will be accessible to key stakeholders like the President of the Republic, the constitutional trustee of our mineral resources, the Vice President and the Head of Economic Management Team, the Minister for Finance, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and my office.”
Samuel Abu Jinapor
Government has launched the digitalized National Assay Laboratory in Accra. The new laboratory is set to enhance operations of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) in the examination and valuation of gold.
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