The second board of directors for the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) since the inception of the venture was last Wednesday sworn into office.
The charge to the directors that they work diligently towards the realisation of the dream of positive exploitation of the enormous iron ore reserves was audible in the Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor’s remarks during the function.
The minister was echoing President Akufo-Addo’s resolve to have the country industrialise.
It has been a few years since GIISDEC was born and since then many more reserves of iron ore have been unearthed, and these when added to the existing ones give the country an auspicious opportunity to develop this alternative non-traditional source of foreign exchange and employment generation in the country.
The Chairman of GIISDEC, whose appointment was hinted by the President when he was guest of Ya Na Abukari Mahama II at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi last month, is a man eager to impact on the economic fortunes of the country and the sources of this backbone of industrialisation.
His remarks during the swearing-in function palpably suggested that he is going to hit the ground not running but cruising.
His Mineral Resource Estimation project is something which should precede any meaningful extraction of the iron ore deposits.
He can count on the support of the Lands and Natural Resources Minister for the realisation of our national steel dream.
With the Sheini Hills, a major source of the natural resource next-door to Yendi, the Chairman’s constituency, there is no doubting his commitment to have GIISDEC become a major source of national economic fillip.
The selection of the membership of the board speaks volumes about the expectation of the President.
Seasoned experts in their various fields of endeavour, we can vouch for the commitment of the team.
The Yendi, Oppong Manso and other reserve areas should witness major turnaround in their fortunes as their natural resource join the list of sources of our economic development. Of course the youth of the catchment areas can count on the provision of employment and development of such areas.
We are excited about the engagement with relevant publics which the Chairman of GIISDEC has commenced already in earnest.
We implore the board to learn from best practices and challenges as they obtain in countries where the exploitation of iron ore is ongoing.
The Nigerian experience should guide us as we continue this monumental industrial march. Our colonial stable mate with her enormous iron ore deposits started an ambitious project, the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited.
A hiccup visited the project but the country’s Mines and Steel Development has announced that the company will function to capacity very soon as the Russian company which built it is scheduled to undertake a technical audit of the facility.
The building industry, the newly established automobile companies in the country and the resuscitating railway sector are all areas dependent upon a flourishing iron ore extraction and value addition ventures.
The task on GIISDEC is enormous but so are our hope and confidence upon the leadership as epitomised by the President’s choice of policy directors.
With some 1.3 trillion dollars to be realised from the current estimated 6.4 billion tonnes of the resource in the ground across the country, commitment should be the watchword.