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Concerns have been expressed by Martin Ayisi, the CEO of the Minerals Commission, over recent demands for a complete ban on small-scale mining in Ghana.
In his appearance on Monday, October 7, before the Government Assurances Committee of Parliament, Ayisi said that enforcing a complete prohibition would be unjust as it would harm small-scale miners who are compliant with laws and functioning lawfully.
He emphasized that rather than punishing all miners equally because some of them are fully compliant with the law, it is necessary to explicitly target unlawful mining, also known as galamsey.
“When you say ban small-scale mining, in my understanding, it means that don’t allow anybody to do it lawfully. I understand the situation and the anger of Ghanaians but the people who have sunk a borehole will be punished because folks along the Pra, Birim, and co are misbehaving.
“These are the issues that we are facing and so I advised the government and told my minister that it will not be proper to have a wholesale ban.”
A ban on all mining has been advocated by a number of groups and unions, including Organised Labour, which has voiced disgust towards the threat posed by illicit mining.
On October 10, organized labor will go on strike in protest of the government’s alleged inability to stop the threat to safeguard Ghana’s forest reserves and waterbodies.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
