Yusif Sulemana announces trust fund to train constituents in mining skills

Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Yusif Sulemana, has announced plans to establish an educational trust fund to train young people in mining-related skills and improve local participation in the sector.

Sulemana said the initiative would focus on equipping people in his constituency with the requisite skills and knowledge to take advantage of employment opportunities created by mining and other extractive sector investments.

He explained that although companies could be encouraged to employ people from host communities, they could not be compelled to do so if the residents lacked the necessary qualifications.

“So, it behoves us as stakeholders to train our people and give them the requisite skills and knowledge so that when these companies come, they are able to absorb them,” he said.

According to him, strengthening the skills of local people would make Ghana’s local content policy more meaningful by ensuring that communities have qualified people who can secure jobs within the extractive sector.

 Sulemana made the announcement on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, when he spoke at the National Mining Dialogue organised by Asempa FM under the theme “Rethinking the Social License to Operate.”

The forum brought together stakeholders to discuss responsible mining and the relationship between mining companies and host communities.