The
country lost $50bn (N8tn) in the last two years to neighbouring countries as a
result of illegal mining and exportation of unprocessed gold.
The
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Linus Awute,
said this on Wednesday during an interview on the sidelines of the
Nigerian-Brazil Investment Forum in Abuja.
He
described the loss as monumental, adding that the activities of illegal gold
miners were far beyond control.
Awute,
however, added that the Federal Government had put in place mechanism to
address the problem.
He
said, “What the country loses to illegal mining is tremendous; but the truth is
that the amount of gold that left this country because of the illegal mining
activities was more than $50bn in the last two years.
“The
amount of unprocessed gold that has left this country through the neighbouring
countries, Ghana in particular, and being processed in Ashanti, is enormous.”
Awute,
however, said the Federal Government had begun the process of formalising the
operations of illegal miners in the country, adding that such a move would help
to generate revenue in the form of royalties to the government.
He
said, “The solution to informal mining or illegal mining is to get them
formalised and that is what we are doing right now. We have over 600 groups
that formed themselves into cooperative societies.
“The
most exciting thing is that there is tremendous increase in the percentage of
accruable royalties to the government through the regularisation of their
activities.’’
Awute
pointed out that a road map for the development of the mining sector had been
produced by the ministry, adding that the framework would help to set out vital
programmes to be implemented in the short, medium and long term.
The
permanent secretary said a new policy that would help to enhance performance
and regulate the sector adequately had been put in place.
He
also said the ministry had forwarded a draft Metallurgical Bill to the Ministry
of Justice to provide a veritable tool to regulate and monitor activities in
the metal sector.
The
bill, according to him, will ensure efficient operations in the industry in
line with world best practices as well as improve the working conditions of the
people.
He
said, “If the sector is well developed, it will provide alternative sources of
internally generated foreign exchange that can be used to fund critical
infrastructure projects.
“It
will also aid the creation of economic activities and organised settlements in
the rural and semi-urban centres as well as create employment opportunities.’’
PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment