The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Henry Kokofu, has disclosed that the Agency has sanctioned and revoked licenses of some companies engaged in illegal mining.
In an interview aired on Joy FM’s Mid-Day news on Monday, he stated that those who have been engaging in illegal mining do not bother to visit the EPA for a licence.
“We have sanctioned a lot and we have been able to revoke their licences,” he stated.
According to him, further actions are being taken in collaboration with the Minerals Commission to activate the implementation of the reclamation bond by small-scale miners.
The reclamation bond is expected to be a strong tool in dealing with regulation and formalisation of the mining sector.
But a former Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, Dr Toni Aubynn said the Minerals Commission should be able to monitor licensed companies and apply the regulations indiscriminately.
This, he said, is because “it is not only the small-scale mining who operate outside the law.”
Meanwhile, religious leaders drawn from all religious groups have advocated for an immediate ban on all small-scale mining activities in the country as part of efforts to deal with ‘galamsey’.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra on Monday on behalf of the religious leaders, National President of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, Emmanuel Baba Mahama said all small-scale mining, whether legal or not legal must be banned.
“We call for the immediate ban of all small-scale mining,” he declared.
According to him, the group has observed that “many groups or companies hide behind a legal licence to wreak havoc on the environment” hence the ban on all forms of small-scale mining.
He noted that the ban should be enforced until “a workable and satisfactory road map has been established to ensure responsible mining in the country.”