The distinguished Western Regional Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Takoradi Constituency, Hon. Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah has been recognised and deservedly honoured at the Better World Fund Cannes Film Festival held in France on the 12th July 2021 at the 3.14 Plage.
The mission of this astute organisation (Better World Endorsement Fund) touches the sensitive areas of our existence, such as the environment, Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Women’s Empowerment.
It’s assuring that the Better World Endowment “creates a continuously growing community of leading thinkers and doers who share our mission for positive environmental, economic and social change as well as our passion for collaborative impact”.
The Body is made up of a high-powered team of world-class experts from business industries and academia. The accomplished individuals making up the team set the tone through their supports for human development and environmental sustainability. The Better World Fund presented “Ethical Gold” which was anchored on “Responsible Mining”, making a world of difference in small-scale gold mining.
The Republic of Ghana was the country of honour due to government effort and leadership, and Hon. Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah’s ingenuity in addressing the challenges in the small-scale mining in Ghana through his ardent promotion for responsible mining.
Accordingly, this year’s programme in Cannes had the “Ethical Gold Session” to honour those in the Gold industry that promote responsible mining therefore, Hon. Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah was honoured with the Social Impact Award for promoting zero mercury in the small-scale mining sector in Ghana.
Innovatively, the Minister spearheaded the Regional Coordinating Council to organise the first-ever Gold Expo in Ghana in March last year, directed specifically at resolving the topical issues i.e., the quest for technology-oriented small-scale mining which will ensure the implementation of best mining policies, enforcement of statutes and collaborative stakeholder engagement to safeguard our existence and to sustain the environment.
This year, July 2021, the Hon. Regional Minister led the organisation of Ghana Mining Week to promote once again, the urgency and essence for responsible mining in Ghana and also to advance the conversation for Green mining operations through mining policy sessions and diplomatic field trips.
The significance is for the nation to realise the economic and social benefits of responsible mining which ought to be underpinned by the right usage of technology in the entire extraction process and gold mining value chain. On an account, the distinguished Western Regional Minister stated that It is all about “transformative change through the pursuits of responsible small-scale mining which resultant effect is the production of ethical gold in Ghana”.
