The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, has opposed the call for a total ban on small-scale mining in Ghana.
He described the call as improper and warned it could lead to illegal mining activities.
The CEO said this when he appeared before the Government Assurances Committee of Parliament on Monday, October 7, 2024.
He told the committee that imposing a blanket ban would be an unfair move.
He also posited that such an action would have a negative impact on small miners who are engaging in legal and ethical mining.
Martin Ayisi maintained that legal miners cannot be pushed through the blanket ban on mining.
“When you say ban small-scale mining, in my understanding, it means that don’t allow anybody to do it lawfully. I understand the situation and the anger of Ghanaians, but the people who have sunk a borehole will be punished because folks along the Pra, Birim, and co are misbehaving.
“These are the issues that we are facing, and so I advised the government and told my minister that it will not be proper to have a wholesale ban.”
He also took a swipe at the Ghana Police Service, accusing it of failing to combat illegal mining.
“Anybody who gets into the river bodies is involved in an illegality. If someone gets into the rivers, they go at night, like 10: pm, or 11: pm there, and then by 4:am, they fold up.
“Once the Minerals Commission reports to the appropriate security agencies that people are working at night, our job ends there. So, I struggle a little bit. Let me use the Konongo as an example. So the District Officer of Minerals Commission goes around to monitor operations; that is his job, and ensure that those who have been licensed follow the law, and some do breach… And he chanced upon an activity where people were mining.
“There are two things that he will do, he will report to the District Assembly and say he has found this activity, which is close to the road.
“What the District Assembly has to do is to organise the security forces to stop the activity ahead of DISEC. We have reported several times that people are mining behind the Anyinam Police Station, which we have not permitted. How come the police are not taking action.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
