Africa must take absolute control of its natural resources and rare minerals to improve the quality of life of its people, the Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has said.
That, he said, would require strengthening regional integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area, to boost intra-African trade and industrialisation.
“By trading with each other, we reduce dependency on external markets. We must invest in processing and manufacturing to capture more value from our resources, create jobs and stimulate the economy,” Dr Pelpuo added.
The minister was speaking at the third Executive Council Meeting of the African Federation of Miners and Mineral Wealth in Accra, yesterday.
The three-day event is being attended by trade union leaders from across the continent.
Challenges
Dr Pelpuo said Africa, rich in natural resources and rare minerals, had found itself at the centre of a new scramble for influence and control.
“Our collective challenge is to ensure that our resources benefit our people, drive our development and cement our position in the global economy”, he said.
Dr Pelpuo said Africa’s rich natural resources, such as cobalt, lithium, gold and oil, remained crucial for the world’s energy transition and technological advancement.
He said the greatest solution to confronting those challenges was unity, adding that the African Union’s vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa was more relevant today than ever.
Dr Pelpuo further said that with its vast mineral resources, Africa was well positioned to play a significant role in the global green energy transition.
The continent boasts over 30 per cent of the world’s critical green minerals, with countries such as DR Congo dominating global cobalt production.
Situation
The General Secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr, asked the AFMMW to fight casualisation, which he said was a continental class struggle.
“What is happening in Ghana (90 per cent casualisation) is happening in South Africa, in Tanzania, in Zambia and in the DRC.
“It is not poor management; it is a deliberate strategy to break the collective power,” he said.
Scramble for minerals
The President of the AFMMW, Joseph Chewe, said the global push for Africa’s critical minerals had seen global powers such as China and the US pursue their agenda to access them.
China, for instance, had increased its presence, investments and bilateral collaborations with many African countries, he said.
“Unity among African mining unions must go beyond statements and intent and translate into coordinated action.
“We must begin to speak with one voice on critical issues — labour standards, safety, wages, and the protection of collective bargaining agreements,” the president said.
For his part, the General-Secretary of GMWU, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, said the organisation was formed to unite African mineworkers at the continental level, promote and protect their rights, and advance occupational health and safety standards.
In a solidarity message, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, Joshua Ansah, said that amid the abundant natural resources, the conditions of many mining communities told a different story.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
