President of the National Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, says Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, will only succeed if government and political parties stop turning it into a partisan issue.
Speaking on Inside Pages on Metro TV on Saturday, October 4, Michael Peprah said while he was encouraged by the government’s renewed engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs) and miners, the country still needs consistency and strong enforcement of mining laws.
“I was very glad when the President [John Mahama] invited the CSOs, and he also invited the small-scale miners as well,” he said.
“Government is you and me, and issues that border on illegality affect everybody.”
He said the meeting held on Friday, October 3 was useful because it showed “goodwill and political will” from the government.
“Some years back, various forest reserves were being encroached and people were in there mining with impunity,” he said.
“But when this government came into power, it made it clear that whether you are an appointee or politically affiliated person, they are not going to condone people destroying our ecosystem.”
Michael Peprah praised the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, for recent efforts to clear illegal miners from forest reserves, noting that “the nine months is doing a very good job.”
He also backed government’s decision to declare forest reserves and water bodies as security zones, saying it would help curb illegal mining activities.
“We as small-scale miners can attest to the fact that there is no law that permits one to mine in forest reserves or water bodies,” he said. “Declaring those areas as security zones is something we applaud.”
However, he cautioned against calls for a state of emergency in mining areas, arguing that enforcement, not new laws, is the real challenge.
“If you’re able to enforce the existing laws, there’s no need to declare a state of emergency,” he said.
Michael Peprah also revealed that former Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) secretary, Charles Bissue, had previously tried to introduce reforms that could have improved the sector, but was not supported by his own party.
“I think Charles Bissue tried to bring about these methods, and unfortunately, his party did not allow him to do what was on paper,” he said.
“The previous government brought about a multilateral mining integrated project spearheaded by Charles Bissue, but along the way, they had to disband it.”
According to him, the galamsey fight should not be reduced to partisan politics.
“We shouldn’t bring politics into this galamsey fight,” he said.
“People who want to mine can be allowed to mine in a responsible and sustainable manner, and those miscreants who want to destroy our forests can be dealt with.”
Mr Peprah also stressed that small-scale mining remains a vital part of Ghana’s economy, contributing significant revenue and employment.
“Small-scale mining is now producing the largest gold in Ghana,” he said. “Government is raking around $350 million every week from the small-scale mining export of gold. That’s not a joke.”
He described the sector as a “bread-and-butter issue” that sustains livelihoods across mining communities.
“We cannot kill these people,” he said. “What we can do is to form cooperatives and help them mine in a sustainable way.”
On President John Draani Mahama’s plan to send leaders of mining groups to Australia to learn modern mining methods, Mr Peprah said the idea was “laudable.”
“The methodology in mining is evolving,” he said. “In countries like South Africa, they mine close to rivers without destroying them. The problem in Ghana is not mining near rivers, it’s mining without control. So if we can learn how others do it and implement it here, it will help.”
He added that the initiative would be similar to a previous programme that sent miners to China for training.
“It was a good initiative,” he said.
“If people go and learn new methods and come back to save our water bodies, that’s the way to go.”
