Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has cautioned against relying on mining as the foundation for the Upper East Region’s long-term development, urging policymakers to use the region’s mineral wealth to build sustainable economic opportunities that will outlast resource extraction.
In a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the 10-Year PEARL Framework for the Upper East Region on Monday, June 29, 2026, Mr Bagbin said the region’s mineral resources should serve as a catalyst for lasting prosperity rather than become another example of the “resource curse.”
“The question before us is therefore not whether the Upper East Region possesses valuable mineral resources,” he said.
“The more important question is whether those resources will become the foundation for lasting prosperity. Whether the mineral resources will be a curse or a cure to our economic malaise.”
Mr Bagbin said the PEARL Framework offered a strategic vision for ensuring that mining benefits are translated into sustainable development.
“Mining is a temporary opportunity, not a permanent development strategy,” he stated.
“The true wealth of this region will not ultimately be measured by the minerals extracted from beneath the bowels of the soil, but by the enduring assets created above it, such as productive agriculture, thriving industries, resilient infrastructure, skilled citizens, vibrant enterprises and strong institutions.”
He warned that many resource-rich communities around the world have been left with degraded environments, weakened local economies and declining livelihoods after mineral extraction ceased.
According to him, the Upper East Region has an opportunity to avoid that outcome by investing mineral revenues in long-term economic transformation.
Mr Bagbin described the PEARL Framework as a blueprint that deserves national attention because it places sustainable development above dependence on finite natural resources.
He said future generations should remember this period not for the extraction of minerals but for how the region converted temporary wealth into permanent prosperity.
“The challenge is whether it possesses the wisdom to convert temporary wealth into permanent prosperity.”
