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High Street’s application to mine in Kakum Park was rejected – Minerals Commission
The Minerals Commission says it rejected an application from High Street Ghana Limited for a mining license within the Kakum National Park.
According to the Commission, the application from the mining firm received no consideration and was subsequently removed from the online mining cadastre.
In a statement sighted by JoyNews, the Minerals Commission stressed that the application by High Street Ghana Limited will not be processed.
“The Commission wishes to inform the CSOs and the public that the application of High Street Mining Company Limited was rejected and therefore cannot be processed or considered whatsoever. Consequently, the Commission has deleted the application from the online mining cadastre.”
“The Commission wishes to assure the public that no mineral right whether for prospecting or mining shall be considered or granted in the Kakum National Park.”
It thus asked the public to disregard any contrary reports.
Background
On Friday, November 10, 2023, several civil society organizations (CSOs) in the country strongly opposed what they deemed as an attempt by mining firm High Street Ghana Limited to conduct mining activities in the Kakum National Park in the Central Region.
The CSOs highlighted that High Street Ghana Limited’s application was one of 14 applications received by the Minerals Commission from various firms seeking approval to mine in forest reserves across the country.
During a stakeholder engagement on the new Regulation on Mining in Ghana’s Forest Reserves (LI 2462) 2022 on Thursday, November 9, Mustapha Seidu, the Director of Nature and Development Foundation, cautioned against the potential widespread destruction of the country’s forests if the Legislative Instrument (LI 2462) is not revoked.
Mr Seidu disclosed, “As we speak, there are 14 more applications under different stages of consideration by the Minerals Commission, including an application by High Street Ghana Limited to mine in the Kakum National Park.”
He further emphasised that the application was in the validation stage and, based on the provided concession map, would cover about 24% of the reserve.
Expressing concern about the potential consequences, Mr. Seidu urged stakeholders to address the issue promptly, stating, “If in less than one year of coming into force of LI 2462, we are seeing this massive legal destruction of our forest, we can imagine what will happen in the next five years or decade.”
Source:Myjoyonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
