Economist and professor at the University of Ghana, Godfred Bokpin, has raised concerns about the country’s mining sector, stating that it is not creating sustainable employment compared to other mining economies.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show during a discussion on the current state of the economy from his expertise, Prof Bokpin noted that the sector, which includes quarry operations, has not been harnessed effectively to generate long-term economic benefits.
“If you compare other countries that are doing proper mining and you compare employment generation to that of Ghana, you can see that in terms of decent job creation or employment creation, the employment we chalked in the mining and quarry sector is very weak. So in the mining sector, if you add quarry to that, it is not delivering quality jobs on a sustainable basis.”
He added, “In the last 23 years, you will see that in terms of decent job creation, mining and quarrying haven’t really added much to the employment data in Ghana.”
Prof Bokpin stressed the need for strategic reforms and value addition to ensure the industry contributes meaningfully to job creation and national development.
He also condemned the government for doing less in curbing the issue of illegal mining in the country, arguing that the sector is not helping the economy.