The ban placed on all small-scale mining activities across the country a little over a year ago, has been lifted, Peacefmonline.com can confirm.
The Government of Ghana, through the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, who is also Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, announced the lifting of the ban this afternoon.
“We can imagine that this decision to lift the ban will elicit varied responses from Ghanaians....There will be many who will say that the water bodies are still polluted and so the ban must be maintained. On the other hand, there will be those who will argue that hundreds if not millions of Ghanaians whose incomes are related to small-scale mining are under extreme pressure that they can no longer cope with the sustained ban,” he said at a meeting with journalists in Accra on Thursday, 16 August 2018.
As part of efforts to deal with the effects of illegal small-scale mining popularly known as 'galamsey' on the environment and water bodies across the country, the Akufo-Addo-led government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources placed a ban on all small-scale mining activities shortly after coming into office.
The ban, which has been in existence after the government assumed office in January 2017, was to ensure the re-claiming and re-afforestation of mined-out areas, restoration of impacted water bodies.
Government subsequently launched a joint military and police taskforce called Operation Vanguard to fight recalcitrant galamseyers.
After a year of comprehensive research and careful consultation with all interest groups, the committee completed the Road Map that will regulate the activities of the Small Scale Miners and guide their operation.
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