Galamsey: I Will Ban and Revoke Licenses of Small-Scale Miners if I Become President – Alan

Independent Presidential Candidate, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has tabled ten strategic plans to root out illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey in Ghana.

Among them are a ban on small-scale and community mining for a year and the revocation of licenses of small-scale miners.

It is his position that the two main political parties in the country lack the will to fight the growing menace which is taking a toll on the country’s environment.

“In my considered opinion, this development is symptomatic of much deeper underlying systemic problems of economic mismanagement, leading to joblessness, over a long period of time. It is also a clear reflection of policy failure and leadership, on the part of both the NPP and the NDC, over the last two decades.

“Unfortunately, in the recently published manifestos of the two dominant political parties, they have demonstrated that they neither have the competence, desire, interest, or political will to deal with the problem of Galamsey. Indeed, recent statements by high-level officials of both parties, clearly attest to this observation,” he said during a press conference held on September 29.

Below are his 10-point Plan:
1.      A complete ban for a period of one year, of all small-scale and community mining activities, whether legal or illegal.

2.   Demobilization of all machinery, equipment, including earth moving equipment, and any other form of machinery currently in use, in respect of small-scale and community mining, legal or illegal.

3.    Inventorization, Storage, and Preservation of all demobilized machinery and equipment by the Military, specifically, the 48 Engineer’s Regiment. All such machinery and equipment shall be properly identified in respect of the ownership, location prior to demobilization, and the full description of the state and condition of the said items.

4.    A complete restoration of all river bodies to reduce current turbidity levels, within the period of one year, while the ban is enforced. This exercise will be coordinated by the Water Resources Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and other relevant Regulatory Institutions, as well as the Military.

5.    Complete restoration and regeneration of all degraded land sites within the one-year period of the ban. This exercise, will involve plantation development and tree planting on the degraded sites, and will be coordinated by the Forestry Commission and other relevant Public Sector institutions.

6.    The cancellation of all small-scale and community mining licenses issued within the last 15 years. The cancellation will be followed by a comprehensive and complete audit of all small-scale and community mining licenses issued within this period. This audit exercise, will interrogate the following matters:
a.    The issuing Authority of the License.
b.    Conditions associated with the grant of the license, including but not limited to, payment of license fees, compliance with technical performance requirements, etc.

7.    The deployment of all young people previously engaged in Galamsey, to actively participate in the plantation development exercise, on degraded land sites, as a livelihood empowerment initiative, within the period of the ban.

8.    The establishment of a new Youth in Responsible Mining Initiative, under which groups of young people previously engaged in Galamsey, will be supported by the Government to establish youth-owned mining companies as private legal commercial entities. These companies will be provided seed funding to acquire heavy machinery and equipment, and other facilities required to operate a commercially viable mining company, on a work-and-pay basis. These companies will also be provided with working capital at subsidized interest rates. In addition, the government will provide executive management personnel from the Ghana Executive Service Organization, to support the management and operations of these youth-owned mining companies, whilst the young people work as employees of their own companies. In addition to the above, the new Youth-Owned Mining Companies will be issued new mining licenses and other licenses, to enable them to operate legally, and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

9.    The establishment of a Citizens Mining Protection Rights Group in each mining community, who will act as the watchdogs for responsible mining.

10.    Introduction of new legislation and regulations, that will impose a complete ban on mining in river bodies and forest reserves. The sanctions regime associated with this new legislation and regulations, will include life imprisonment for violation of the provisions of the said legislation and regulations.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini