Manhyia Palace to host ‘Ghana Responsible Gold Mining’ summit
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is set to host a summit to ensure that gold sourced from Ghana is responsibly mined and traded.
The Summit is dubbed “Ghana Responsible Gold Mining Summit”.
It is scheduled to take place on the 7th and 8th of April 2023 at the Manhyia Palace, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region, to precede the 24th Coronation Anniversary of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The Summit will be led by Africa Responsible Mining in collaboration with E ON 3 Group and Ansong Askew Ltd.
The event is supported by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its agencies, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Other stakeholders, including international market makers, will also provide some collaboration.
The Summit will focus on aligning Ghana’s small-scale mining sector with the expectations of international markets.
This will include measures to increase transparency and accountability in the sector in line with international responsible sourcing standards.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will work with the government of Ghana, traditional leaders, political leaders, and international stakeholders to ensure that gold sourced from the country is responsibly mined and traded.
At a Regional Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining in Kumasi in May 2021, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II threatened to sanction chiefs within his jurisdiction who engage or assist in illegal mining activities.
Also addressing the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs in Kumasi on October 14, 2022, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II called out his sub-chiefs for not taking up the fight against illegal mining but rather accepting monies from illegal miners thereby making it difficult for their part to make any meaningful contribution to the fight against illegal mining.
Again, in October 2022, when the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, called on His Majesty at the Manhyia Palace, he touched on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s promise of putting his presidency on the line during the height of the war against the illegal mining menace and wondered why the President had even put his presidency on the line, and yet illegal mining was going on.
And at the last meeting of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs for the year 2022, held in Kumasi on December 14, His Majesty re-emphasized his quest to root out illegal mining from his domain and went head to state that his office will take next year (2023), summon chiefs whose lands have been destroyed by illegal mining, for questioning.
He warned that any chief unable to provide valid reasons would be sanctioned so that they would learn a lesson and protect their lands from illegal mining.