Journalists and other media practitioners, have been encouraged to develop interest in reporting on the mining sector, to help ensure that Ghanaians derive the expected benefits from the minerals of the country. Dr Ebo Afful, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC), gave the encouragement in Wa, at a media training on mining sector reporting organised by Azumah Resources Limited, a gold exploration company operating in the Upper West Region. He said journalists must develop interest in projecting issues of the mining sector with the knowledge that extractive minerals have played a leading role in enhancing the economic emancipation and development of many countries including South Africa. 'Therefore, it is important that the media pay attention to the mining sector because it is an area that can give so much wealth to society,' said. The training was to introduce the journalists and other media practitioners in the region to the mining sector, equip them with the kno wledge of the industry and whip up their interest in reporting on the sector. Dr Afful indicated that the discovery of lithium and the interest it had generated among the people had made it more imperative for the media to develop interest in and increase reportage on the sector, to inform the public of the potential benefit of that mineral. 'The first thing that the journalist reporting the mining should do is to study the sector, because if you are not knowledgeable in the area, you cannot write compelling stories on it. So, it is important for the media houses to take interest in the area and build the capacity of their journalists in that area,' Dr Afful explained. He stressed the need for the media practitioners and journalists to have refresher courses on the mining sector reporting and advised them to focus on specialisation of this key area of socio-economic importance. He also advised the '21st-century journalists,' to see themselves as academics by researching, understanding the issues, and tak ing the pain to do proper analysis and interpretation before drawing conclusions on their reports. 'So, if the 21st-century journalists begin to behave like academics, they will definitely be writing good stories, interesting and important stories, stories that, at the end of the day, mobilise the whole society to achieve whichever goal that they want to achieve for themselves,' he said. Representatives from the Minerals Commission at the training also took the participants through the legal frameworks governing the country's mining sector. Some legal frameworks mentioned included the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act 900), Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995), and Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431). Participants were also schooled on the different types of mineral rights in Ghana - Exploration mineral rights (Reconnaissance License, Prospecting License, Restricted Reconnaissance Lic ense and Restricted Prospecting License) and Exploitation mineral rights (Mining Lease, Restricted mining Lease and Small-scale mining License). Mr Gabriel Mwin, the Managing Director of Info Radio in Wa, commended Azumah Resources Ltd and the training facilitators for the knowledge imparted to the participants. He said the media owed it a responsibility to get the public informed about the minerals sector of the country, how the resources were being exploited, usage of the proceeds and the general impact of the mining activities on the lives of Communities and the nation. Source: Ghana News Agency
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