Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has challenged stakeholders in the mining sector to work towards ensuring proper regulation of the sector.
The mining sector, he said, would not be properly regulated unless all the stakeholders discharge their duties with integrity and transparency.
He threw the challenge in a lecture he delivered at the maiden Student Representative Council (SRC) Public Lecture of the Ghana School of Law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi on 10th December, 2021.
He spoke on the theme: “The legal regime of the mining sector in Ghana, history, challenges and the way forward.”
According to him, illegal mining cannot be regularized and regulated if the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commissions fails to monitor the operations of mining or does not perform its work on principles of integrity and transparency.
He averred that it would only be possible to sanitize the mining sector if all stakeholders work together in harmony.
He said, “We can only get to the right conclusion in respect of sanitising the small-scale industry if we work as a team.”
“The Minerals Commission, the Minister, the Deputy Ministers, the Ministry and everyone need to work in the spirit of integrity and courage, then, we can move forward.”
He noted that the fight against illegal mining is in sync with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision of achieving a Ghana beyond aid.
Hon. Abu Jinapor disclosed that GH¢20million has been allocated in the 2022 Budget towards the fight against galamsey and as part of efforts to promote responsible small-scale mining the Ministry has instituted a Responsible Small-Scale Awards Mining Scheme.
The maiden edition of the awards, he said, will come off on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, and will be held annually to reward small-scale miners who adhere to the health, safety, and environmental standards of mining.
He pointed out that devastation to the environment that has been caused by illegal small scale mining has resulted in people associating small scale mining with environmental degradation.
“But a well-organised small scale mining will contribute immensely to our socio-economic development, through job creation and increasing government revenue. Small scale mining contributes about a third of our total gold production. Currently, all our diamond production comes from small scale mining.”
“The government is therefore not against small scale mining. What the Government is against, is illegal small scale mining that pays no regard to the environment, and the lives of the millions of people who depend on them.”
“What we must do to ensure that we benefit from small scale mining is to sanitise the industry and since March 2021, we have adopted several policies and measures to ensure that we deliver an environmentally safe small scale mining,” he stated.
The Minister urged tertiary education institutions to come up with courses in mining to provide graduates with the requisite knowledge to help manage the industry better.
Ghana, he said, is blessed with many mineral resources but over-concentration on traditional minerals like gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese has resulted in the neglect, or under exploitation of the other mineral resources.
Source: Mypublisher24.com
