Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has announced plans by government to secure the services of an independent surveyor to verify the tonnages of manganese and bauxite shipped outside.
Currently, the Takoradi Port, where the minerals are shipped outside, does not have an independent conveyor surveyor but relied on assessment reports from the Cargo Owners, Ship Owners Association Independent Survey Report and the Bill of Ladens issued by the captain of the ship that will convey the commodity to the final destination.
This, the Minister, believed was not good enough for government to independently ascertain the correct figures or accurate tonnages exported by the Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) and the Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC).
Mr Asomah-Cheremeh made this known during a working visit to the Takoradi Port, in the Western Region, to see at first-hand how the minerals are loaded onto cargo vessels.
The Minister was accompanied by Mr Addae Antwi Boasiako, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission and Mr Kofi Agyei, the Chief Inspector of Mines as well.
Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said Cabinet earlier this year set the cap on the export of manganese at five million metric tonnes in order to safeguard the exploitation of the commodity.
Additionally, it would enable the nation to retain significant quantities of the commodity for local industries that are being set up to process the commodity locally, in consonance with the government’s industrialization agenda.
