The Regional Consultative dialogue on small scale mining will open today in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
The Consultative Dialogue which will be the second dialogue this year will be graced by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who will open this event in Kumasi.
According to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, the objective of the dialogue is to decentralize the stakeholder consultation. The Minister stated that the dialogue will also provide the opportunity to make inputs in the national discourse on the regularization of the small-scale mining sector.
This, he said, will be made possible through the coordination of diverse views to help develop appropriate policy options with the overarching good of improving the operation, regulation, management and governance of the sector.
Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor further reiterated government’s determination to work closely with all stakeholders to curb illegal mining and promote sustainable and responsible mining at all levels.
The Regional Dialogue follows the recently held National Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining in Accra from April 14 to 15, 2021,;which was opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The end of this dialogue saw the various stakeholders highlighting the need for all political parties, stakeholder groups and individuals to join the development and execution of the recommendations.
The stakeholders also agreed by consensus that dealing with illegal small-scale mining is a national emergency,;which required urgent and concerted effort to tackle. The Dialogue also charged government to take steps to put in place systems that would rigidly apply the law.
Ministry seeks Otumfuo’s support
Prior to this Regional Dialogue, a four-member delegation from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and;the Minerals Commission called on the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II,;in Kumasi to seek his support in the fight against illegal small-scale mining.
The delegation, led by Mr Benito Owusu Bio, a Deputy Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources,;said the support of the Asantehene was critical in winning the illegal mining fight.
The Asantehene, also accepting this invitation underlined the importance of rallying;and mobilizing every stakeholder in the mining sector to fight illegal mining,;especially at a time the country’s rivers and forest-cover were dissipating at a faster rate.
He said the previous generations left the environment much cleaner and better;and urged the current generation to leave a more secured and better environment for the future.
He added that the decentralized galamsey fight called for all stakeholders, including chiefs,;municipal and district chief executives (MDCEs) and residents of mining communities,;to play their part to safeguard the environment from further destruction.
The regional dialogue will take place at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology with participants from the Ashanti, Bono East, Bono and Ahafo regions.
The artisanal and small-scale mining for gold contributes at least a third of the total gold produced in Ghana. The sector provides jobs,;creates opportunities to support rural livelihoods, entrepreneurship and provide sources of development minerals such as clay, kaolin and limestone.
