Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng
It was after they had understood the conditions underpinning the lifting of the ban on small-scale mining that the illegal operators discovered that for sure, it is not going to be the dirty and environment-degrading business as usual module they are used to.
Were the conditions not to be spelt out as they were, the whole exercise of suspending the small scale mining would have been nothing but a futile venture, a long leave and a return to the bad ways.
The closure to the suspension having come, we have a few yet significant observations to make as those qualified to prospect for the precious minerals return to site.
Those who are not unexcited about the government action should be those who could not care a hoot about the health of the environment. For them, today is only what matters; the difference between them and those wearing their thinking caps.
The protection of the environment is certainly not a triviality; it is an international effort which saw high-notched conference held in Poland recently. The obstinacy of the Chinese says it all about how it is not a downhill task in our country as the mongoloids troop to Ghana in their numbers trampling upon our laws with impunity and firearms. Regrettably there are Ghanaians supporting them as formidable fronts.
There appears to be a restriction on small scale mining to only Ghanaians yet foreigners are very prominent in the occupation.
It is important to find out what has become of PNDC Laws 216, 217, 218 and 219 which forbids non-Ghanaians from engaging in small scale mining. Unless these have been replaced with legislations which extend small scale mining to non-Ghanaians, we assume it stands and should therefore be applied as such.
Unless we adhere to a checklist which we have learnt were presented to government as suggestions, we would not achieve much in our war against destructive mining practices. Foreign companies come in various guises. They could come in with specialized equipment and technology as though to assist us but end up engaging in the very practices we seek to uproot. It is necessary to audit any promise of assistance at these trying moments when the doors appear to have been flung open.
Perhaps even more dangerous are the Ghanaians who come to subtly front for the foreign companies but unfortunately fail to protect the national interest as it were.
Unless the restrictions so announced are backed by law, we do not stand a dog’s chance of protecting the environment as we so wish. The Chinese are on the fringes ready to jump into the space.
Adherence to the permissible depth of digging or excavation should be constantly monitored and indeed those who are deployed to enforce the relevant laws should themselves be watched lest they are compromised without the authorities knowing.
Don’t we have a pool of retired geological engineers whose services we so much need at this time of a seeming invasion of our gold-bearing areas? They could proffer us important counseling on how to respond to the challenges.