Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Yusif Sulemana, on Tuesday told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that he could not immediately provide the number of small-scale mining licenses issued since he assumed office, citing the need to verify records from the ministry’s database.
This admission came in response to a question from Davis Ansah Opoku, the deputy chairman of the Committee, who sought specific data on small-scale mining licenses granted to date.
According to the deputy minister, providing such figures on the spot would be inappropriate without consulting official records.
“If you ask me the number of small-scale mining licenses issued, I cannot give you any figure,” Mr. Sulemana said matter-of-factly, stressing his commitment to accuracy and transparency.
Mr. Opoku, acknowledging the deputy minister’s candour, redirected his question to the Minerals Commission CEO, pressing for data on the licenses issued between January and November this year.
The deputy minister, conferring briefly with the Minerals Commission CEO, reiterated the need for due diligence and made clear his unwillingness to provide estimates without a thorough check.
“Chairman, I just confirmed with my CEO, and you know we swear an oath we are serious and patriotic citizens sitting here, and we don’t want to give you any information that will contradict what we have in our data,” Mr. Sulemana stated.
He further assured the Committee, “If you want us to give you accurate information, give us by close of day. We will print it out and come and give it to you today, but we don’t have it here and we will not guess.”
The deputy chairman of the Committee responded by extending the timeline if necessary, saying, “Thank you, Minister, very much. We are going to give you the whole day; if you want, the whole week, we want this information out there.”
Mr. Sulemana reaffirmed the ministry’s readiness to respond officially, stating, “We will put it on our letterhead and bring it.”
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
