Frank Osei (middle) with some executives of GNASSM
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), Mr. Frank Osei, popularly known as Denero, has appealed to authorities to prioritise dialogue and education over violent confrontations in addressing challenges in the mining sector.
His call follows a recent clash between a police task force and residents of Bonteso in the Ashanti Region, which resulted in several arrests and alleged fatalities.
Speaking during a visit to the community, Mr. Osei acknowledged that mistakes sometimes occur in small-scale mining operations, but insisted that heavy-handed measures were not the solution.
“We understand that there are some errors or mistakes in our work, but how they are being addressed is not the best. We are therefore pleading with the authorities to halt all operations and come and sit down with us in a discussion and education to ensure that reclamation is done regularly after mining,” he said.
The GNASSM chairman stressed the readiness of miners to collaborate with the government to improve industry practices. He noted that small-scale mining, when properly regulated, could help curb the rising unemployment crisis in the country.
“We are ever ready to sit together because we know we have only one Ghana. It’s not the best that Ghanaians are always in the desert going to Libya and other countries. The youth are suffering; some are even dying due to hardships. God has blessed us with these minerals, and if mistakes happen in the process, the solution should not be gun attacks but sound policies to guide us on how to mine the right way,” he added.
Mr. Osei also condemned what he described as the unfair labeling of Ghanaian miners as criminals, insisting that such portrayals only worsen tensions.
“It is never fair to attack Ghanaian miners and be shielding others. It is very worrying that we are being portrayed as criminals, which is never the case,” he concluded.
FROM David Afum, Bonteso