Charles Onuawonto Bissue
A total of 907 small-scale miners have been vetted by the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal Mining as part of efforts to regulate the sector.
The small-scale miners appeared before the committee to justify why they should be granted licence to operate in the country.
They also presented their documents, including licences from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mineral Commissions to the committee for scrutiny as part of efforts to lift the ban on small-scale mining.
Government intends to sanitize the country’s mining industry and ensure that persons engaged in responsible, environmentally-friendly and sustainable mining.
The roadmap involves the reclaiming and re-afforestation of mined out areas, restoration of impacted water bodies and strict supervision of the processes of awarding mining licences and associated permits.
In an interview with the media, Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Charles Onuawonto Bissue, said that the committee would submit its report to the presidency next week.
According to her, “We have vetted 907 miners and the team is putting a report together, and hopefully by next week the report would be submitted to the Ministers for them to submit it to the Chief of Staff, who will submit it to the President. The exercise has been successful, because we have been able to at least scrutinize the number of licenses being used,” he said.
He added that all legal small-scale miners would be issued with identification cards and uniforms.
The Secretary revealed that at the end of the new registration, government would be able to identify the number of concessions, excavators and miners in every district.
Upon his assumption of office on 7th January, 2017, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to fighting illegal mining, which has degraded the environment.
This necessitated the formation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining in March, 2017, which was mandated to tackle the menace.
By Vincent Kubi