The President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Johan Ferreira, has expressed worry over the undue delay associated with the issuance of permits for the commencement of on and off-site mining projects in the country.
The delay in the issuance of permits to commence work by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he said was adversely affecting projects planning and executions in the mining industry.
“It also negatively impacts the raising of investment capital for projects since it creates uncertainty regarding cash flows and other projects metrics.
“No doubt, these delays affect Ghana’s competitiveness unduly as a mining investment destination,” Mr. Ferreira added.
He was speaking at the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Workshop on the theme: ‘Deepening EIA Knowledge for a Responsible and Sustainable Mining in Ghana’ held recently.
The Chamber, he assured, notwithstanding the sentiments expressed, would not attempt to “short –circuit” the process but rather improve it for efficiency and predictability.
That, according to him, would not only benefit the companies but all stakeholders including the Government of Ghana by receiving more taxes and royalties
The Executive Director of the EPA, Daniel Amlalo, said the delays in the issuance of permits were as a result of the quality of EIAs and sometimes late submissions.
The afore-mentioned, he added, complicates its work and consequently leads to the late issuance of permit.
Mr. Amlalo expressed confident that a carefully compiled EIA would simplify its work as well as enhance output delivery.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Mahama Ayariga impressed on the EPA to strengthen its capacity so that it could act expeditiously on permit applications that come to it.
“The companies need to know exactly what kind of information they need to provide at all times so that their applications can be expeditiously dealt with and there will be no delays,” he added.
By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com), African Eye News.com
