Government of Ghana is implementing a Multilateral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP ) as a response to the needs for jobs and poverty alleviation in the mining communities across the country, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi announced here on Wednesday.
Addressing the opening of the Two Day Ghana Mining and Power Conference organized by the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the Deputy Minister explained that much as the government is eager to eliminate the canker of illegal mining in the country, it will not only use the law enforcement approach but also adopt the integrated approach.
The MMIP combines Legislations Enforcement and Civil Integration and Technological Approach (LECITA) model in dealing with poverty and job security issues in mining communities.
“The objectives of the program are to strengthen the socio-economic capacity of the communities; promote and support sustainable mining practices; as well as improve environmental conditions in mining communities,” Oteng-Gyasi added.
During a panel discussion as part of the summit, the deputy minister insisted that government shall not lift the six-month moratorium on small-scale mining.
“We will register all illegal mining operators in cooperatives and will carry out extensive geological survey and so make them work in cooperatives where their activities will be regulated,” she added.
In his intervention, Emmanuel Kuyole the Deputy Director of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in Africa said the steps to eliminate illegal mining, although laudable with some modest gains so far, is not a panacea to the canker and would need more than just enforcements to achieve.
“My interactions with the practitioners revealed that the lowest earn about fifty Ghana cedis or 11.58 US Dollars in a day, while some earn as much as 500 cedis or 115.81 dollars per day. And so just asking them to stop something so lucrative will be difficult without alternatives,” Kuyole argued.
He added that irresponsible mining by large scale miners is another menace that needs to be tackled, explaining that for him, water use by large-scale miners is as bad as that of small-scale miners, and so steps must be taken to ensure that not only illegal mining is curbed but also irresponsible environmental practices by large scale miners. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
