The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, Godwin Armah, has strongly criticized the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) for calling for a ban on small-scale mining due to the ongoing illegal mining crisis.
He argued that such a proposal is unreasonable and discriminatory, drawing a parallel to the ‘sex for grades’ scandal that once rocked Ghana’s universities but did not lead to a blanket ban on lecturers.
Godwin Armah noted that when cases of sexual misconduct involving lecturers emerged, the government investigated the individuals involved and imposed punishments on the culprits without banning all university lecturers.
He emphasized that the same approach should be applied to address the illegal mining in Ghana.
“Sex for grade at universities didn’t cause a ban on university lecturers. Why should galamsey cause a ban on mining. Just as not all lecturers were punished for the actions of a few, not all small-scale miners should be punished for the illegal actions of others,” he said.
He also pointed out that it is inaccurate to blame only small-scale miners for galamsey, as district assemblies, chiefs, and other local authorities are responsible for protecting resources and water bodies in their jurisdictions.
According to Godwin Armah, work is ongoing to address the issue, and it is unfair to generalize small-scale mining as synonymous with galamsey.
He further stated that those engaging in illegal mining on water bodies are not true small-scale miners and urged the public to recognize the distinction.