NewzMinister-designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has called for stronger collaboration between government and institutions responsible for regulating small-scale mining as part of efforts to ensure that mining activities are conducted legally and responsibly. Speaking during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday, August 27, Mr Ayariga said he would prioritise engagement with the relevant agencies rather than seek to interfere with their statutory responsibilities. He said the focus should be on working together to improve monitoring and compliance within the mining sector.
“I will approach the job with that attitude that let’s engage and ensure that they are doing it (Small Scale Mining) legally,” he said. He specifically mentioned the need to engage the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minerals Commission and support efforts to strengthen their capacity to monitor mining activities. Mr Ayariga said mining engineers and other technical personnel should be available to identify where mining is taking place and ensure operators comply with environmental and legal requirements.
He also stressed the importance of reclamation, saying those engaged in mining must restore degraded areas and return them to their original or productive state. Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday, August 27, Mr Ayariga said Ghana must significantly improve the technical capacity of institutions responsible for regulating the mining sector, particularly at the local level. He proposed that the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be adequately resourced and staffed with technical personnel who can operate within districts where mining activities are taking place.
“Let’s invest in Minerals Commission and have them a lot of mining engineers who are in every district.” According to Mr Ayariga, the presence of mining engineers in every district would allow authorities to identify mining sites, monitor operators and ensure that mining activities are conducted in accordance with environmental regulations. “They identify every single space where a mining activity is taking place to make sure that mining is protected in a way that is consistent with all the environmental regulations.” Mr Ayariga said effective regulation of small-scale mining requires authorities to know where mining is taking place and who is responsible for the activity. He argued that district-level monitoring would make it easier for government to distinguish between legitimate mining operations and illegal activities.
The minister-designate also called for a system that encourages small-scale miners to operate legally, saying many young people who want to mine legally face difficulties obtaining the necessary permits. “A lot of these young people who want to mine legally have difficulty obtaining the requisite permits to carry out the mining activity.” He said the difficulty in obtaining permits can push some operators into illegal mining, where they may also be reluctant to invest in proper equipment and environmentally responsible practices. Mr Ayariga stressed that any effort to formalise small-scale mining must include strict protection for water bodies and existing agricultural land.
He proposed that authorities identify where miners are operating and determine areas where mining can legally and safely take place.
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