More than 100,000 small-scale miners across the country have declared war on foreign nationals engaging in illegal mining (galamsey) in and around liver bodies, devastating Ghana’s water ecosystem and threatening livelihoods and access to potable water.
According to the miners, never in the history of the West African nation had the source of their livelihoods come under so much threat than in recent times, attributing the challenge to foreigners engaged in galamsey in restricted zones.
Group
The miners, who converged on Akwatia, an ancient mining town in the Eastern Region, last Friday, made this declaration during the inauguration of a group known as ‘Miners for Bawumia’.
According to the Coordinator for Miners for Bawumia, Dan Nyame, “We cannot sit idle while our source of livelihood is destroyed. Our small-scale mining activities are backed by law, specifically the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and PNDC Law 218.
“However, foreigners illegally mining in our water bodies have brought our business under threat. We must rise up and act now”
According to a 2016 UNEP report, the small-scale mining sector directly employed more than one million people and supported approximately 4.5 million more. In contrast, the large-scale mining sector directly employs 8,760 people and 25,603 contractors, as reported by the 2020 GHEITI report.
Environmental Impact
In spite of the sector’s economic importance, illegal small-scale mining activities continue to harm the environment.
The Ghana Water Company Limited reports that over 60 per cent of the country’s water bodies are polluted due to illegal mining activities.
The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuem, George Mireku Duker, addressing the miners, underscored that banning small-scale mining would require revoking the law legalising it, an action which rests in the bosom of Parliament.
Regardless of the government’s stance against an outright ban on small-scale mining, miners remain worried about Organised Labour’s utterances, cautioning them against such blanket statements.
The Eastern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Jeff Konadu, assured the miners of Dr Bawumia’s support when he becomes President.
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