The Western Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Nelson, has steered that the Minister of Lands and Pure Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, implement a brand new and thorough technique to deal with unlawful mining within the area.
He contended that though measures such because the removing of miners had been helpful, a whole reform of the mining course of was important to introduce innovative methods geared toward decreasing the dangerous results of unlawful mining on the area’s water assets.
“The combat towards unlawful mining is a monumental job. I’m wanting to collabofee with Minister Armah Buah to discover a new strategy, because the destruction of our rivers and streams is alarming. Merely retransferring miners from the land at present, solely results in their return tomorrow. We want a complete answer to successfully tackle this concern,” Mr Nelson confused.
He was talking on Wednesday, when the Western Regional Home of Chiefs paid a reciprocal go to to his workplace on the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), in Sekondi.
Mr Nelson emphasised that, because the authorities and stakeholders had not successfully carried out legal guidelines regulating small-scale mining, the system would proceed to face similar nagging points that confronted river sources, state assets and the economic system of the Western Area.
Advocating the institution of clear pointers on accountable mining practices, he lamented the devastating impression the massive overflow of Butre River led to the flooding of all the Ewusiejoe group in the course of the 2024 raining season.
He expressed fear that the earlier administration designated elements of the Ghana Rubber Property farmland as a group mining website, stating “I fail to grasp why a rubber plantation can be declared a group mining website.”
Outlining his imaginative and prescient for responsible mining practices, Mr Nelson, additionally Chairman of the Regional Safety Council (REGESEC), confused the necessity for clear requirements and accountability including that, “as soon as a mining allow was issued, the recipient should acknowledge and fulfill the related responsibilities.”
“We want a extra clear and controlled strategy which ensures that mining websites are simply identifiable as registered small-scale and operated responsibly, whereas we additionally emphasise the significance of building clear requirements, efficient monitoring and ensuring that license holders perceive their obligations,” he elaborated.
Moreover, the Regional Minister believed that with the absence of standards, and clear pointers, monitoring would turn into not possible.
He additionally spoke in regards to the want for a collaborative strategy which centered on the formation of a gaggle consisting of the Minerals Fee, District Chief Executives, and safety companies, with clear Key Efficiency Indicators (KPIs).
This, strategy, Mr Nelson explained, would make sure that people in these roles had been held accountable for his or her actions and had been required to reply robust questions when points arose.
He expressed concern in regards to the dwindling of Ghana’s farmlands attributable to unlawful mining actions, and warned that “if the state of affairs is left unchecked, the nation’s capability to supply meals crops and main money crops like cocoa can be severely impacted.”
To handle this concern, he proposed a daring answer which ensured that chiefs who allowed unlawful mining of their areas mustn’t have the land returned to them after reclamation.
Quite, he stated, the state and government ought to take management of the land for agricultural functions.
This strategy, he added, would maintain conventional leaders accountable for safeguarding their lands and to prioritise nationwide meals safety pursuits.
“The necessity for efficient reclamation insurance policies, he instructed the Home, would permit that steadiness financial improvement with environmental sustainability and social duty,” he talked about.
The President of the Western Regional Home of Chiefs, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, thanked Mr Nelson for the collaboration, open – door coverage, and pledged the Home would assist his workplace in combating galamsey.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, SEKONDI
