Licensed small-scale miners reject mining ban; announce 60-day campaign against “galamsey”

Members of the Responsible Small-Scale Miners Association have firmly rejected calls for a blanket ban on all forms of mining in Ghana, calling such proposals “irresponsible” and a misinterpretation of the nation’s mining laws.

This comes after the Akufo-Addo administration ordered the deployment of police and military forces to intensify the crackdown on illegal small-scale mining also known as ‘galamsey’. The move is in response to mounting calls from a section of Ghanaians particularly organized labour which is seeking a total ban on all forms of mining in the country.

Speaking at a press conference held in Kumasi on Sunday (15 September), the group criticized organized labour insisting that this proposal unfairly targets legitimate miners who operate within the bounds of the law.

“We are fully in support of the government’s initiative to evaluate the efforts to combat illegal mining…but it is misguided to include legally responsible mining in this freeze. What we are witnessing now is just blame-shifting by organized labour. This call for a blanket ban on responsible mining is ill-conceived and insensitive to the livelihoods of approximately 6 million people who depend on the small-scale mining industry”, the National President of the group Philip Adjamjobe Bawa explained.

“The law does not grant anybody permission to mine within 100 meters of river bodies, let alone mining in the river bodies themselves. Those who are found to be mining in the river bodies should be dealt with according to the laws of the country. We call on the law enforcement agencies to live up to their expectations”, he stated.

The licensed miners have pledged to intensify their efforts against illegal mining activities, assuring Ghanaians that “from here we are going after them [illegal miners] vigorously and within 60 days, they should see improvements in the turbidity of the water”.

At least 850 people are facing the courts for their involvement in illegal mining, according to Ghana’s Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame. The government late last week set up a five-member inter-ministerial committee to engage stakeholders as part of efforts to end illegal mining across the country.

The committee is chaired by National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah. Other members are Minister for Lands and Natural Resource, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, Employment and Labour Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah and Minister for Information Fatimatu Abubakar.

Reporting By Jonathan Ofori, Asaase Newsroom, Kumasi

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