Government can enforce regulations on small-scale mining by assigning such roles to district chief executives, Kwasi Abu Bonsra, president of the Small Scale Miners Association at Manso Nkwanta, has advised.
Lands and Natural Resources Minister John Peter Amewu on Tuesday March 28 gave small-scale miners in the country three weeks to cease their activities which have come to be known locally as ‘galamsey’.
However, in an interview on Accra100.5FM on Thursday March 30, Mr Bonsra cautioned government against hastily moving to impose a ban on small-scale mining, saying an investigation would need to be conducted to purge the industry of those operating illegally as their activities have given licensed miners a bad name.
He suggested Mr Amewu suspend the decision until the appointment of new district chief executives, whom Mr Bonsra believes can more effectively carry out government’s mission to root out illegal miners on the ground, rather than the central government which is removed from areas where most of the mining happens.
“So I would suggest that we wait for the DCEs to be appointed so we put pressure on them so that whoever illegally dug a pit and failed to cover it be taken to court by the DCEs. It’s not about aggression or using guns as if we are armed robbers. So I am calling on the minister to hold on [to the galamsey ban] so the DCEs are appointed, then we call all stakeholders to a discussion,” explained Mr Bonsra who said up to 60 per cent of Ghanaians depend on galamsey for a living.
He, however, blamed the preponderance of illegal miners in the country on government officials whom he said have over the years instituted bureaucratic processes to ensure access to licences for prospecting and reconnaissance was almost impossible to obtain.
Mr Bonsra advised that with mining activities happening far away from the administrative capital, Accra, the time was opportune for the government to decentralise the award of mining licences to make them easier to obtain and for small-scale mining to be controlled in the country.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
