Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, has urged African leaders to invest in value addition to natural resources to create jobs and drive growth.
“As a continent, we must take absolute control over our natural resources and rare minerals to improve the quality of lives of our people.
“This requires 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,” he said at the opening of the Third Executive Council meeting of the African Federation of Miners and Mineral Wealth (AFMMW) in Accra.
The meeting, hosted by the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union of the Trades Union Congress, was on the theme: “Strengthening Unity and Solidarity Among African Unions of Mines to Confront the New Global Order and Attempts to Control Natural Resources and Rare Minerals.”
Dr Pelpuo described value addition as “non-negotiable” and said leveraging technology and innovation would make it feasible.
“Engagements with strategic partners across the globe would also help reduce dependency on any single influence,” he said.
The Minister said strategic partnerships would enable Africa to attract capital, technology, investment and expertise to develop its resources efficiently.
“Strategic partnerships provide routes to global markets, boosting the continent’s export competitiveness as well as ensuring mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said.
Citing the African Development Bank, Dr Pelpuo said Africa’s untapped mineral resources were estimated at $8.6 trillion and urged the continent to take advantage of the opportunity to improve livelihoods.
He noted that although Africa was rich in natural resources, it faced 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 urged unions to strengthen solidarity to amplify their voice globally and highlighted Africa’s role in the green energy transition.
He said the continent held over 30 per cent of the world’s critical green minerals, with countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo dominating cobalt production.
The Minister called on unions to address conflicts and instability decisively.
“Peace and security are the bedrock of Africa’s development and cannot be compromised. In many African resource-rich countries, we have seen how insecurity and conflicts have plagued their economies and diverted benefits away from communities,” he said.
Mr Joseph Chewe, President of AFMMW, said Africa possessed minerals essential for the global energy transition and future technologies.
He urged unions to influence mining policies, shape investment frameworks and ensure beneficiation and industrialisation occurred on the continent.
“The future of our minerals must not be limited to extraction but must include transformation, manufacturing, and job creation for our people,” he said.
Mr Abdul-Moomin Gbana, General Secretary of the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union, said AFMMW was established on February 27, 2024, in Cairo, Egypt, to unite African mineworkers, promote their rights, advance occupational health and safety standards, strengthen solidarity and collaborate with governments and regional bodies.
He said the initiative sought to advance the African Mining Vision and ensure that the continent’s mineral wealth benefited its people.
Source: GNA
