TheCable

Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development and chairman of the African minerals strategy group (AMSG), says no gender must be left behind in the pursuit of progressive transformation.

Giving a goodwill message on Friday at the International Women’s Day forum organised by the Women Miners Association (WMA), the minister said it is important to invest in the development of women to take up leadership roles in the mining industry.

Alake, in a statement by Segun Tomori, his special assistant on media, said the AMSG is committed to equipping women with the requisite skills to participate actively in the mining sector value chain.

“We live in a world in which no one, no gender must be left behind. This is the logic of progressive transformation that we desire,” he said.

“The African minerals strategy group is committed to empowering women with appropriate skills to enable them participate in the mining sector value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing and commerce.

“We support access to technical training in mining for our young women: we support start-up financial assistance for women mining entrepreneurs, and we champion the inclusion of women in the leadership of regulatory agencies.”

Alake said the AMSG under his leadership will initiate annual studies on the progress Africa is making in those areas and publish findings on the next International Women’s Day.

He charged African leaders to be resolute in making value addition the strategy for wealth retention.

He said African ministers of mining are determined to discourage the export of raw materials and encourage industrial processing of minerals into semi-finished goods for exports.

“This will reduce the obnoxious legacy of unequal exchange, which African scholars see as the manifestion of neo-colonialism,” Alake said.

“Let us elevate the quality of commerce with our trading partners by offering more value. The faithful execution of this policy will provide more jobs and deepen capital formation in the mining industry.”