Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has warned illegal miners to cease their activities immediately or face severe consequences.
“We will deal with illegal miners ruthlessly,” he cautioned during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday, January 27, 2025.
Three-pronged approach
Buah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, a mining district in the Western Region, outlined a three-pronged approach to address illegal mining.
Identifying mineralized areas
Firstly, the government will empower the Minerals Commission and the Geological Survey Authority to conduct geological surveys and identify mineralized areas.
Community engagement
This will be followed by community engagement, where locals will be grouped into cooperatives to operate the Community Mining Scheme.
He emphasized that this new approach will foster social cohesion and community ownership.
““The Community Mining Scheme has a good name but let me tell you how it was done in my area: It was done by government officials at the local level and engaging the services of a contractor who will then go to the community, meet the community and is introduced as the contractor who is coming to do community mining. Then the young people in the community will be hired as day laborers. That is not the community mining and engagement we are bringing”, he noted.
He added “We will ensure that the community is fully involved in the mining process.”
Decentralized mining licenses
Secondly, the government will decentralize the mining licensing regime to fast-track the issuance of mining licenses at the district level.
“Nobody is going to wait for four years to get a valid mining license – they will do illegal mining. We are going to make the process in such a way that it is easier and efficient for them to go through. Ultimately, our focus is to make sure that we deal with people who are engaged in illegal mining ruthlessly because we’ve created a pathway; and we’ve empowered the community to tow the right way”, he revealed.
Repeal L.I. 2462
Thirdly, Buah promised to repeal the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which grants licenses to companies to mine in forest reserves. This move is aimed at protecting the country’s forest cover and water bodies from degradation.
The former Minister of Energy also appealed for national unity in the fight against illegal mining.
“Illegal mining must be combated. We are going to stand together with the people of Ghana to fight illegal mining. It doesn’t matter your status; it doesn’t matter your political coloration. If you want to do mining, we have the legal processes for getting licenses and doing mining”, he stressed.
We’ll stop the ‘mafia’ in the timber industry
In addition to addressing illegal mining, the former Minister of Energy outlined plans to revamp the timber industry.
The government, he noted, will introduce new species of trees, plant new forests, and stop the “mafia” in the timber industry. “We will give the industry all the necessary support it needs,” he noted.
