Minerals Commission holds orientation workshop for blue water guards

The Minerals Commission has organised a career development orientation for blue water guards to enhance their skills and knowledge in their line of duty.

The two-day orientation, held in Takoradi, was attended by selected community heads of the guards from the Western and Western North regions where they were taken through the Mining Cadastre Administration System (MCAS) and its processing cycle, and navigating the Ghana Mining Repository among other topics.

This was to enable them to identify and verify licences of miners and provide information to security agencies to cramp down on those mining without the necessary documentation.

Emmanuel Anyimah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minerals Commission in charge of Support Services, speaking at the opening of the training, said the orientation was part of the Commission’s strategies to equip the water guards with the requisite knowledge to understand their mandates to protect water bodies against illegal mining activities.

He said: “They are community vanguards and are not to engage in aggressive law enforcement actions but collaborate with the relevant security agencies to act on cases of illegal mining, so we are training them to understand the nature of their work.”

He stated that the orientation was to broaden their understanding on how to check the licences of those mining in their communities to identify those involved in proper small-scale mining activities or galamsey.

Anyimah urged the participants to impart the knowledge acquired to their colleagues so they would collectively rid forests and water bodies of galamsey.

Colonel Dominic Buah, Director, National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), took the participants through the mandate of the Secretariat and said it was the central coordination point of all anti-galamsey activities.

He said the blue water guards were part of the value chain in the fight against illegal mining, and that they must execute their assigned duties with diligence, dedication and commitment.

Col Buah asked them not to be influenced by any act of attempted bribery but remained firm and resolute to help the Secretariat achieve its set objectives.

James Abaake, a participant, speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the side-lines, expressed gratitude to the Minerals Commission for the training and said it would help enhance their knowledge in executing their mandates in ensuring water bodies were clean and safe for all.