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Government inaugurates committee to
study galamsey operations
Accra, Aug. 8, Ghanadot/GNA -
Government on Friday inaugurated a five-member committee to
study the state of illegal mining (galamsey) and recommend
ways to streamline the practice.
The committee will also determine the possibility of ceding
off portions of economically unviable concessions of
large-scale miners to galamsey operators.
Ms Esther Obeng-Dappah, Minister of Lands, Forestry and
Mines, who inaugurated the committee in Accra, said despite
the enormous contribution of small-scale miners to the
economy, the sector was bedevilled with some challenges,
which were affecting its development.
She noted that apart from the negative consequences that
galamsey operators faced, many of them were unregistered and
thereby making their operations not only illegal but also
falling short of best practices.
Ms Dappah said the Ministry had received reports that
foreigners, including West Africans and Chinese, were
involved in illegal mining activities in parts of the
country.
She said as measures to address the problem, the Ministry
was engaging in demarcating of lands for licensing,
providing financial support to needy and organised
small-scale mining groups and encouraging miners to form
co-operatives to take advantage of government support.
The committee, which is chaired by Mrs Rita Tani Iddi,
Deputy Minister Lands, Forestry and Mines, has three weeks
to present its report.
The committee will, among other things, recommend mechanisms
for identification and eviction of non-Ghanaian illegal
miners from operating in these areas, identify the major
galamsey-prone areas in and around the Obuasi, Tarkwa,
Bogoso, Abosso, Assin Fosu areas.
GNA
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