Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has emphasized the significance of relations between Ghana and South Africa and urged the two nations to work together immediately to strengthen their negotiating position in relation to gold prices in order to obtain competitive gold prices on the global market to their mutual advantage.
According to the Lands Minister, 60% of the world’s cocoa production is produced in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, and these two nations have collaborated to establish what is known as the cocoa floor price. As a result, there is currently a minimum price level, regardless of what occurs on the international stage, below which cocoa cannot be sold.
He further indicated that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are taking a step further and working jointly to get the International community to take out the issue of premiums.
The Minister stated this when a high-level delegation from South Africa called on him to among other things exchange ideas and best practices on the mining sector particularly small-scale mining operations.
Hon. Jinapor was of the view that the move by Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in the cocoa industry could be replicated by Ghana and South Africa in the gold sector.
The Ghanaian government, the Minister said, is doing all it can to come to grips with illegal mining activities known in Ghana as ‘galamsey’, in Australia as Prospecting, and in South Africa, as Zama zamas and charged his technical team to consider the governance structure of the South African delegation since their system is fused from the get-go sighting the head of their committee as a Major General concluding that theirs is a broad sectoral nature.
On her part, Major General Zulu the leader of the delegation applauded Ghana for allowing her country’s top principals to engage them while they are on their knowledge-sharing tour in the country adding that the President of the Republic of South Africa tasked them to use Ghana as a benchmark to yield broader results.
She further stressed that Ghana’s small-scale mining sector is focused on improving the lives of the community as well as the economic sector.
Ghana and South Africa are leading producers of gold in Africa and relations between the two countries date back to pre-colonial times as both countries are members of the African Union and the Commonwealth of nations.