Accra, Dec. 28, - Government
would from next year vet all small-scale miners across the country to
regularise and monitor their activities.
The move would ensure that
small-scale mining is done in a responsible, environmentally-friendly and
sustainable manner.
This was disclosed by the
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the commissioning of the Secretariat
for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) at Cantonments in
Acccra.
The Secretariat, situated at the
Office of the President Annex, would enable the Committee to achieve its long
term objective of combating illegal small-scale mining, protecting the
environment, and ensuring that mining in the country conforms to international
standards, rules and regulations.
The Secretariat would be the
nerve centre of anti-galamsey operations, and would serve as a means of
executing the President's agenda to end the degradation of the environment.
'Operation Vanguard', which is a
flagship exercise by the IMCIM, to curb the degrading activities of galamsey
operations, as well as all other interventions, also aims at regulating the
artisanal gold mining sector and would be coordinated from that office.
President Akufo-Addo said he was
"resolute and immutable" in his commitment to banish the spectre of
galamsey "for our own common survival, and the survival of those who are
to come."
He was emphatic that "we
would be jeopardising both our present and our future", if illegal small
scale-mining went unchecked.
The President said Government was
entering a new era in its efforts to formalize the small scale mining industry,
so as to achieve sustainable mining with sound environmental practices.
“In the weeks and months ahead, I
expect to see optimal co-ordination amongst participating Ministries and the
District Mining Committees, as well as close interaction with Operation
Vanguard, small scale miners and the general public.
"I expect the Committee to
receive regular reports from mining centres, so that illegal activities can be
dealt with immediately,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo stressed
that with the office for the Inter-Ministerial Committee in place, “there is
going to be constant, close and effective monitoring and reporting of
anti-galamsey activities, so that the right thing is done all the time."
"This new phase will
demonstrate our resilience and commitment to ensuring that our water bodies,
land and forests, with their biodiversity, are not destroyed, ” he said.
The President urged the Small
Scale Miners Association, from the national to the community level, to “help in
self-regulation of activities of their members, and also ensure that no one
engages in illegal activities, especially mining in our water bodies.”
He also commended the media for
the patriotism it had exhibited in the fight against the galamsey menace and
urged it to intensify the campaign against illegal small-scale mining because
"we must preserve our environment for posterity".
GNA
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