Mandate: The MDF was established by Act, Act 912 passed by Parliament in March, 2016 to provide a more reliant and predictable source of funding development initiatives in mining communities. The mandate of the Fund is to provide “financial resources for the direct benefit of mining communities, a holder of an interest in land within mining communities, a traditional and local government authority within mining communities and an institution responsible for the development of mining in Ghana.
Vision: To become a trustworthy public mining and minerals funding secretariat to reliably and sustainably manage the resources made available to it to meet the expectations of mining communities in Ghana.
Mission: The MDF exists to support Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) to provide financial resources for direct benefit of traditional and local authorities and the people in various mining communities by initiating sustainable development schemes to improve the mining prospects in Ghana.
Goal: The broad aim of the Fund is to provide financial support to mining institutions and communities for sustainable development.
Core Functions
The MDF derives its core functions from the MDF Act (Act 912, 2016) Section 7. This is to:
- Ensure the proper and effective performance of the functions of the Fund;
- Pursue policies to achieve the objective of the Fund;
- Collect or arrange to be collected, through procedures determined by the Minister, moneys lawfully due to the Fund;
- Ensure accountability of the Moneys of the Fund by defining appropriate procedures for accessing and monitoring the Fund;
- Disburse moneys of the Fund generally in accordance to Section 21;
- Invest some of the moneys of the Fund into safe securities that the Board considers financially beneficial to the Fund;
- Review requests for moneys from the Fund and make recommendations to the Minister; and
- Receive and examine reports from designated persons in respect of financial assistance granted those persons.
Objectives
The broad Objectives of the Fund as provided under Section 5 of the MDF Act is to:
- Provide funds to redress the harmful effects of mining on affected communities and persons;
- Promote research and capacity building for local content development for mining companies, mining regulatory institutions and other institutions that train manpower for the mining sector;
- Provide funds to support monitoring and evaluation systems in MLNR and also across the mining sector; and
- Provide funds for local economic development projects and alternative livelihood projects in communities affected by mining activities. To provide funds to support any project aimed at promoting the mining sector. https://mdf.gov.gh/