The Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources are to develop a formal partnership aimed at improving specialist coverage of mining, forestry and land reform.
The agreement was reached during a courtesy visit to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, in Accra by an IFEJ delegation led by its President, Roger Agambire Agana. Executive members Bernard Yaw Ashiadey and Rayborn Bullay also attended.
Mr Agana asked the ministry to support technical briefings and training workshops for journalists. He said IFEJ was prepared to help explain the ministry’s policies to the public and assist host communities in understanding the government’s plans for local value addition in the minerals sector.
Mr Ashiadey proposed that the two organisations draw up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), establish an annual conference on mining and natural resource governance, and produce joint research with technical support from the ministry.
He also called for closer cooperation with agency heads under the ministry and for IFEJ members to visit degraded land undergoing reclamation. Such visits, he said, would allow journalists to report on both restoration work and its environmental effects.
Mr Buah welcomed the proposals and agreed to host an inaugural half-day workshop for IFEJ members, at which he and agency heads would provide briefings.
He said general news coverage often failed to capture the substance of sector policies, highlighting the need for specialist journalists able to explain complex issues clearly to the public.
The minister also announced that Cabinet had approved a new mining policy to replace the 2014 framework. A new mining bill currently before Parliament will require mining companies to sign community mining agreements with their host communities.
Under those agreements, companies will have to make written commitments to local development priorities, including schools, roads and skills training, for the entire lifespan of a mine.
“It’s not a charity. It’s not corporate social responsibility,” Mr Buah emphasized.
He said the standard term for mining leases would be reduced from 30 years to 20 years. Once a lease expires, the state will decide whether to renew it or introduce Ghanaian business partners.
Reconnaissance licence holders who record no capital expenditure on exploration after five years will lose their rights, while a new medium-scale mining category will be created to help Ghanaian small-scale operators expand.
Forestry and land administration
Mr Buah said 44 forest reserves had been damaged in recent years, with degradation affecting an area equivalent to about 13,000 football fields.
He said the state had regained full operational control of the affected reserves. Restoration and replanting are being carried out through the ministry’s Tree for Life initiative, which involves schoolchildren and uses private-sector support to address funding gaps.
Technology is also being introduced to simplify land administration and improve public access to land management services.
The partnership will begin with the joint capacity-building workshop, followed by direct collaboration between IFEJ members and the ministry’s individual agencies.
