The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Mining has highlighted that outlawing indigenous small-scale miners outright is not the answer to irresponsible mining; rather, political resolve on the part of chiefs and succeeding governments is the key. The Secretary of the association, Mr. Godwin Armah, defended the actions of its members during a press conference in the Eastern Region, stating that they are not the ones engaged in illicit mining.
“Politicians should stop politicising the issue,” he continued. They must make a decision regarding whether or not they wish to see the indigenous industry collapse. We are in line with other economic sectors and do belong to the extractive industry. Mr. Armah contended that since the regulators might not have access to their data for monitoring and evaluation, action ought to be taken against the actual offenders.
He continued saying “The Potrase area being mined on the Densu River is for large scale miners, not us. At the Asamankese area on the Pra River it is also them, not us. We should not be held liable for others’ wrongdoing, we are ready to liaise with all stakeholders to find lasting solutions. The Environmental Protection Agency, Minerals Commission and Water Resources Commission assess our concessions daily, because they do not have data on illegal mining concessions, they cannot check their illegal line of operations,” alleged.
The calls for a total ban on mining have intensified due to the worsening condition of river bodies and the devastation of farmlands.
SOURCE: https://dew360.net
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