Former President John Dramani Mahama has launched a scathing attack on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led government over its handling of the mining sector.
According to the flagbearer of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), over the past seven years, small-scale miners in the country have endured enough pain including the confiscation of their equipment and, in some cases, the loss of lives of innocent Ghanaians.
Speaking at the ‘3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small-scale Mining’ organized by the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani on Wednesday, May 15, Mr Mahama unveiled a comprehensive plan to improve and reform the sector.
Key among these is the establishment of district mining offices in all mining areas, staffed by officers from the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies. He said these offices would streamline the application process for mining licenses, promoting transparency and efficiency.
“To support these efforts, we plan to amend the Minerals and Mining Act to grant district mining offices a legal mandate to issue mining licenses. This would decentralise the licensing regime and increase the number of regulated small-scale mining companies and youth employment, particularly under the 24-hour economy policy,” he said.
“As part of our broader economic transformation model and a burning commitment to creating more sustainable and decent jobs for the Ghanaian youth, my administration intends to ensure the active involvement of mining engineers and graduates from the University of Mines and Technology and the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, in the small-scale mining sector, creating opportunities for them. These professionals will be attached to the newly created district mining offices and small-scale operators to provide guidance and support.”
“This will also introduce the best mining practices, thereby ensuring the safety and sustainability of mining practices.”
Mahama also addressed the issue of illegal mining, or galamsey, which has devastated the environment. He promised to protect cocoa farms from destruction, ban mining in water bodies, and prohibit entry permits into forests.
“One of the impacts of illegal mining, including galamsey, has been the destruction of forests and cocoa farms. We will protect the destruction of cocoa farms for mining and effectively ban the issuance of entry permits into forests. Mining in water bodies will be outrightly prohibited. Recognising the invaluable role of traditional leaders in our society and as a testament to our commitment to inclusivity and respect for all stakeholders, I intend to have traditional leaders included in the crucial process of granting mining licenses in their communities.”
“Therefore, we must strengthen regulatory institutions such as the Minerals Commission, the EPA, the Geological Survey Authority, and the Natural Resources Universities to further this.”
“This will involve laws, policies, regulatory enforcement, and education. Miners must be aware of the regulations and their reasons. They must be partners in this transforma>on and not adversaries.”
Mr Mahama also proposed a structural reform of the mining sector, introducing a re-categorization into Small-scale (SSM), Medium-scale (MSM), and Large-scale (LSM) mining.
“It is also my vision to reform the mining sector structurally. Ghana’s small-scale mining sector is perhaps the only economic sector with only two categories—small and large. Some mines within the small-scale category have grown beyond ‘small’ but are not large enough to qualify as large-scale. My government will structurally reform the entire mining sector through a comprehensive re-categorisation into Small-scale (SSM), Medium-scale (MSM), and Large-scale (LSM), each with specifically tailored operational, environmental, and safety requirements,” he noted.