The Small Scale Miners Association says the highlights on small-scale mining by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia are matters known to have been spoken about for years.
The Association indicated that these measures announced by the candidate of the new Patriotic Party (NPP) are proposals that have existed for years and been spoken about by experts and stakeholders in mining.
The challenge, General Secretary Godwin Armah said, has been about the political will in implementing them.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM with host Kwabena Agyapong, ‘’we heard about the highlights and what he has promised to. These are policies that this government has spoken about over the years. Experts and industry players have spoken about them, but the only challenge is implementation. An example is the district mining committees. It is contained in the law. The only question to ask is how they will be resourced so they can work efficiently. That is the challenge. So we demand further and better explanation on how this would be done to make them effective and resolve or address illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.’’
He also spoke about exploration, indicating that it would be important for measures to be adopted to make exploration far better than what we see today.
Godwin Armah said there should be mechanisms in place to prevent unqualified people from accessing the explored lands.
He said small-scale mining requires training and commitment to abiding by laws, while small-scale miners ought to also be members of recognised associations to ensure discipline, compliance, and sanity in the sector.
He lamented that during election years, efforts to deal with illegal activities were ignored, and all manner of people mined anywhere without recourse to the law, a situation that is dangerous and a threat to environmental sustainability and human life.
Godwin Armah added that the political will to deal with galamsey is not in existence, as some political leaders, DCEs, MCEs, and other officials are all involved in the illegal activity.
‘’If we allow people to engage in illegal mining and do not politicise it, then we will make progress. If illegal miners are arrested and we release them on the grounds that they are party members, then it is unfortunate and will worsen the devastating effects of galamsey.’’
On the issue of community mining, he said,
‘’Community mining must be reserved for the community and not an individual. When you speak of community mining, ownership should be for the community and not an individual. How can an individual claim to be a community miner? A chief or traditional ruler cannot also claim to be a community miner. It should be for the community, with appointed trustees holding it in the trust of the community. So if a chief dies, the son or children of that chief cannot claim ownership since it is a community project. The situation where we give individuals licenses to engage in community mining through limited liability companies defeats the purpose of community mining. There are challenges with the current approach to community mining, and if we want to sustain the policy, we have to implement it properly. If it is well done, no government will come into office and scrap it,’’ he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
