The Ga Mantse, His Royal Majesty King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, has called for mining communities to be carried along and to benefit meaningfully from Ghana’s mineral wealth, declaring that “communities which carry the burden of mining must see the best share of its products.”
Speaking as Chairperson at the opening of the National Mining Dialogue 2026, organised by Semmis DS Group Limited in collaboration with Ekosisen of Asempa FM, the Ga Mantse said the survival of Ghana’s mining industry depends on restoring trust between mining companies and their host communities.
According to him, mining companies operate not just by the licences granted by the government but with social license given by the people who host the resources.
“It is not a legal document. It cannot be granted by a minister or commission. Rather, it is quietly and continuously earned from the chiefs, queen mothers, the people and communities whose land mining takes place,” he stated.
“Like any licence, it can be withdrawn. That is why the presence here of regulators, large-scale operators, small-scale miners, gold buyers and traditional authorities makes this meeting very important,” he added.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II challenged the mining industry to move beyond extraction and invest in people and the land from which mineral wealth is obtained.
“Before a licence is given, before a concession is granted, before an ounce of gold is taken from the earth, there is land. And long after the mining companies, the machinery and the trucks have departed, the land is the one that will remain and must be reclaimed,” he said.
He posed two questions that he said every mining agreement should answer: “When the concession is granted for the use of the land, what have you brought? And when you are going, what are you leaving behind?”
“Properly managed, mining should build hospitals, build schools, build health centres, provide clean water, support scholarships and create opportunities for local contractors, transport operators and engineers,” the Ga Mantse stated.
He also warned against sacrificing the future for short-term gains.
“We cannot trade for today’s wealth in a manner that buries tomorrow’s future for generations after we are gone,” he said.
The Ga Mantse urged participants at the dialogue to work towards a “Catchment Compact”—a binding agreement between the mining industry and host communities that would be monitored and reviewed “edition after edition across the airwaves and borders.”
Declaring the National Mining Dialogue 2026 duly opened, the Ga Mantse said the fundamental question for Ghana’s mining sector is not whether mining should continue, but “whose terms and whose benefits” should determine how it continues.
By: Christian Kpesese/NR NEWS
