As a sign of government’s recognition of their integral and strategic role in the fight against illegal mining, George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has engaged the Western Regional Security Council and the Eight District Mining Committees in the Western Region on the need for them to rise up and take their rightful place in combating illegal mining activities across the region.
Addressing a gathering of Metropolitan, Municipal and District officials, as well as traditional rulers in the Western Region, Mr. Mireku Duker drummed home the point that the anti-galamsey fight is a national and civic call to duty that must be answered with alacrity and devotion by any Ghanaian, more especially those with responsibilities in the various districts.
He emphasised that traditional authorities who are custodians of lands and culture should as a matter of urgency and necessity rise up and assume a frontal role in the fight against illegal mining.
The Deputy Minister in charge of Mining said he is not oblivious of the difficult and peculiar nature of the challenge but remains adamant that the stakeholders should work hand-in-hand with the central government to win the war against illegal mining.
Turning his attention to the persons still engaged in illegal mining, Mr. Mireku Duker warned that ‘we are coming for you’ and that whoever is apprehended by the security authorities, irrespective of his political or religious colour, will be put behind bars.
He stated forcefully that government will not allow some self-serving people to destroy the country’s river bodies with their illegal activities.
He called on Ghanaians, particularly the youth to join the fight, stressing that the battle against illegal mining is a process and not an event.
“It is not an easy battle, it’s a war. It’s not an event, it is a process. We know the menace may not be totally uprooted but we can reduce it to an appreciable level. If we had not implemented certain measures the situation would have been worse.
We commend the security agencies, but we need to do more. Government is doing its best to turnaround the fortunes of the small-scale mining sector. It is important for us to join forces with government in the fight.
“I called on the youth to fight this battle dispassionately because it is about their future. We should not allow partisan politics to destroy this fight, because it has no political colouration. All hands must, therefore, be on deck to fight this battle,” he said.
George Mireku Duker also stated some key interventions embarked on by the government to streamline the small-scale mining sector.
He mentioned the introduction of the Community Mining Scheme which is to help regularise the activities of illegal small-scale miners through sustainable and responsible mining practices, the National Alternative Livelihood Employment Program (NALEP), which aims at providing alternative employment opportunities for Ghanaians displaced from illegal mining activities.
He also cited the training of river wardens, purchase of speedboats and constant patrol of river bodies as some measures that are already yielding positive results.
The Chief Director of the Western Regional Coordinating Council, who spoke on behalf of the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, said he is confident that the permanent solutions rolled out by government will help reduce illegal mining activities in the region.
He also added his voice to Mireku Duker’s appeals for the traditional authorities and stakeholders to play active role in the helping the government curb the illegal mining menace.
RE: MINING IN FOREST RESERVES
Meanwhile, the Minerals Commission has responded to another ‘attack’ launched against it by the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini.
The following is a full statement the Commission issued yesterday;
The attention of the Minerals Commission has been drawn to another publication by the Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini, in respect of the issuance of a Forest Entry Permit to Messrs Koantwi Company Limited.
This was after the Commission had refuted his earlier allegation that the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, had granted prospecting licences to some companies to prospect for minerals in Forest Reserves.
First of all, it is important to emphasise that the ban issued in 2021 by the Minister was in respect of reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration in Forest Reserves, except in exceptional circumstances.
The ban was imposed because people acquired reconnaissance and/or prospecting licences and turned around to mine, causing extensive damage to the Forest.
A reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration licence is fundamentally different from a mining lease.
A reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration licence is granted to search for minerals, while a mining lease is granted to mine and/or exploit the mineral after the exploration activities have identified them in commercial quantities.
The environmental protocols for mining are more stringent than reconnaissance and prospecting. It is for this reason that Government banned reconnaissance and prospecting in Forest Reserves, except in exceptional circumstances.
For the avoidance of doubt, the ban does not extend to mining or the actual extraction of minerals.
It is public knowledge that parts of the concessions of Newmont Ghana Limited, Chirano Gold Mines Ltd. and Ghana Bauxite Company fall within Forest Reserves, and these companies have been mining in the forest, prior to and after the imposition of the ban.
In respect of Messrs. Koantwi Company Limited, a casual reading of the Forestry Commission’s letter, posted by Suhuyini, shows that it was an approval for the issuance of a Forest Entry Permit to the Company to MINE within a portion of the Forest Reserve and not to undertake reconnaissance and/or prospecting.
In any case, Messrs. Koantwi Company Limited was granted its mining lease on 22nd September, 2020 and ratified by Parliament on 22nd December, 2020 before Jinapor became Minister.
The publication by Suhuyini, suggesting that the Minerals Commission was not candid when it said that the Minister has not issued a reconnaissance and/or prospecting licence is, therefore, not the case.
The Commission will urge the general public to engage the Commission on some of these matters before going public.
The Commission will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to implement Government policies for the effective utilisation and management of the natural resources of our country, and particularly to fight illegal mining and its devastating consequences.
