IFEJ and Lands Ministry agree to partner on mining reporting

The Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, have agreed to work towards a formal partnership to improve specialised reporting on mining, forestry and land reform in Ghana.

The agreement followed a courtesy call on the minister in Accra by an IFEJ delegation led by its president, Roger Agambire Agana, with members Bernard Yaw Ashiadey and Rayborn Bullay.

Mr Agana asked the ministry to support training and technical briefings for journalists, and said IFEJ stood ready to help explain the ministry’s policies to the public and to prepare communities for the push towards local value addition in the minerals sector.

Mr Ashiadey proposed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry, an annual conference on mining and natural resource governance, and joint research and publications with technical input from the ministry. He also asked for closer working ties with the ministry’s agencies and for IFEJ members to visit degraded lands now being reclaimed, so they can report on recovery efforts as well as the damage.

Mr Buah welcomed the proposals and agreed to a half-day workshop at which he and the heads of the ministry’s agencies will brief IFEJ members. He said general press coverage often missed the substance of sector policy, and that specialised journalists were needed to explain it.

The minister outlined several reforms. He said Cabinet had approved a new mining policy to replace the 2014 policy, and that a new mining law before Parliament would require community mining agreements. Under these, mining companies must commit in writing to development goals set by host communities, such as schools, roads and training, over the life of a mine. “It’s not a charity. It’s not corporate social responsibility,” he said.

He said the reforms would cut mining lease terms from 30 years to 20, after which the state would decide whether to renew them or bring in Ghanaian partners. Holders of reconnaissance licences who show no spending on exploration after five years will lose them. A new medium-scale mining tier will help Ghanaian small-scale operators grow.

On forestry, Mr Buah said 44 forest reserves had been destroyed in recent years, leaving degraded land he put at roughly 13,000 football fields. He said the state had now regained full control of the reserves. The ministry’s Tree for Life initiative, which involves schoolchildren and draws private sector support to cover budget shortfalls, is reclaiming and replanting the land. He added that the ministry is also using technology to reform land administration and make land services easier to access.

The partnership will begin with the workshop, after which IFEJ members will follow up directly with the ministry’s agencies.