Hon.Barbara Oteng-Gyasi joins Lands and Natural Resources Minister to Commission Tracking Centre.
The Governing Board Chairperson for Minerals Commission of Ghana, *Hon. Lawyer Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi* on Thursday, 8áµ—Ê° December 2022 joined the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, *Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor* to commission a newly established Centre at the Minerals Commission to monitor and track earth-moving and mining equipment, including excavators and vehicles used in the transportation of explosives.
The Centre, which set up by the Minerals Commission led by the able chairperson, *Hon. Lawyer Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi* in partnership with the George Paa Grant University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), will provide real-time information on the movement and activities of excavators and explosive vehicles.
It was indicated that, excavators would be installed with trackers, and assigned to specific concessions to facilitate monitoring. According to the Commission, the system has been designed to ensure that any excavator that moves outside its concession area would automatically shut down.
A Pilot exercise had been undertaken in Tarkwa and Obuasi, and excavators which ventured outside the specified concessions ceased to operate and had to be unlocked at the Tracking Centre by Minerals Commission to become active again.
In addition to excavators used for Mining, vehicles used in the transportation of explosives would also be installed with trackers to ensure the ability of Minerals Commission to monitor their movement, including their speed, and the activities of drivers. This follows a recommendation by the Committee on Health and Safety which was established by the Minister after the Appiatse incident, where a vehicle carrying explosives exploded and destroyed the Appiatse community.
The Committee, as part of its recommendations, recommended that vehicles carrying explosives be tracked to monitor their movements and activities. It is envisaged that the tracking program would make a positive impact in the quest to sanitize the Small Scale Mining sector.
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