By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The Institute of Financial
and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources have agreed to work towards a formal partnership to improve
specialised reporting on mining, forestry and land reform.
The agreement followed a
courtesy call on the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel
Armah-Kofi Buah, in Accra on October 13, 2026, by an IFEJ delegation led by its
President, Roger Agambire Agana, with members Bernard Yaw Ashiadey and Rayborn
Bullay.
Roger Agana asked the
ministry to support training and technical briefings for journalists, saying
IFEJ stood ready to help explain the ministry’s policies to the public and
prepare communities for the push towards local value addition in the minerals
sector.
Mr. Ashiadey proposed a
memorandum of understanding with the ministry, an annual conference on mining
and natural resource governance, and joint research and publications with
technical input from the ministry. He also called for closer working ties with
the ministry’s agencies and visits by IFEJ members to degraded lands being
reclaimed, to enable journalists to report on both the damage and recovery
efforts.
Hon. Buah welcomed the
proposals and agreed to hold a half-day workshop at which he and the heads of
the ministry’s agencies would brief IFEJ members. He said general press
coverage often missed the substance of sector policy and that specialised
journalists were needed to explain it.
The minister outlined
several reforms in the mining sector, including a new mining policy approved by
Cabinet to replace the 2014 policy and a new mining law before Parliament that
would require community mining agreements.
Under the proposed
agreements, mining companies would have to commit in writing to development
goals set by host communities, such as schools, roads and training, over the
life of a mine.
“It’s not a charity. It’s
not corporate social responsibility,” Buah said.
He said the reforms would
reduce mining lease terms from 30 years to 20 years, after which the state
would decide whether to renew them or bring in Ghanaian partners. Holders of
reconnaissance licences who failed to spend on exploration after five years would
lose their licences.
A new medium-scale mining
tier would also help Ghanaian small-scale operators expand their businesses.
On forestry, Hon. Buah said
44 forest reserves had been destroyed in recent years, leaving degraded land
equivalent to roughly 13,000 football fields. He said the state had now
regained full control of the reserves.
The ministry’s Tree for Life
initiative, which involves schoolchildren and draws private sector support to
cover budget shortfalls, is reclaiming and replanting the degraded land.
The minister added that the
ministry was also using technology to reform land administration and make land
services easier to access.
The partnership will begin
with the half-day workshop, after which IFEJ members will follow up directly
with the ministry’s agencies.
