Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has urged African countries to make investment opportunities attractive for investors while insisting on the importance of value addition for the growth of their country’s mineral infrastructure.
He stressed the need to move away from the “dig and ship” approach and highlighted two essential pillars to help achieve that: first, insisting on value addition, and local participation; and second, ensuring that states and governments provide the necessary infrastructure and environment, including cadastre and other facilitated systems, for investors to operate, optimize, and maximize benefits shared equitably.
The Minister emphasized, “You cannot achieve value addition or participate at the highest end of the value chain if the government doesn’t establish a proper, investor-friendly environment. It’s crucial, and governments must prioritize this.”
The Minister was contributing to a Ministerial Symposium panel discussion on the topic; “Pushing Africa into a new investment era with solutions to the continent’s greatest challenges” at the ongoing “African Mining Indaba” conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sunday, 4th February, 2024.
He added that fundamental elements, such as a solid and consistent rail system, reliable infrastructure, and power systems, must be in place to attract private entities effectively.
Using Ghana as a case study, Samuel Abu Jinapor explained the importance of having a policy framework where both the state and investors play their roles effectively.
Taking the example of bauxite, he mentioned Ghana’s efforts to build an integrated aluminum industry with a policy framework supervised by President Akufo-Addo.
The goal is to exploit and manage resources efficiently while striking a balance between value addition, indigenous participation, and creating mutually satisfactory arrangements.
Minister Jinapor acknowledged the challenge of changing government policies in some African countries but emphasized the need for sustainable policies that serve the continent’s best interests.
Highlighting successful private sector participation and investment in Ghana, he pointed to the establishment of an automobile industry, attributing it to a sensible policy framework aligned with the primary goal of private sector investments – making a profit.
The Minister advocated for synchronized policy frameworks across Africa to universally promote value addition, citing the African Mining Vision as a guiding principle. He also mentioned the collaborative effort of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in structuring a common market pricing on cocoa as a positive example of African collaboration for growth.
Hon. Jinapor and the other panelists in the end agreed that the new perspective on mining sector investment in Africa, should be envisioning a shift from the “rich Africa with poor Africans” model to one resulting in “rich Africans from rich Africa,” catalyzed by mining.
The Ministerial Symposium is a high-level, invite-only policy roundtable, that brings together Mining Ministers to develop and discuss a shared vision for Africa’s future sustainable mining and mineral value supply chains. The Symposium aims to strengthen collaboration between government, investors, and the private sector in order to improve bilateral relationships across the continent.