Small Scale mining ban: Amewu has personal interest – NPP Chairman

The governing New Patriotic Party( NPP) Chairman for the Manso Adubia constituency in the Ashanti region and Chairman for Small Scale mining in the area, Kwasi Bonsera has slammed Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Peter Amewu for his alleged agenda to kill small scale mining activities in the country.

According to him, Amewu’s unnecessary delay to lift the ban on small scale mining fuels the suspicion that he has some personal interest or gains in his decision.

“He has a personal interest, because as a minister he’s not supposed to do that. You’ve been in office for over a year and still you can’t bring out any pragmatic plan or better still conducive platform for mining to be conducted in a responsible manner. It’s best for him to say he’s banned it out rightly.

“As an NPP Chairman in my area, I’m not supposed to vent my anger this way, but Amewu is not doing things right. Amewu has to go. His colleagues are working earnestly in the other sectors to develop Ghana, while he’s lazing around. I suspect there is some miscommunication with what is really going on with mining activities; Nana Addo is not given the right information. And we’re planning to meet the President as an Association and discuss matters to the core with him, because about 95 percent of our people are NPP members who’ll not watch for Ghanaians to give him a bad name because of mining.” he told sit-in host Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM.

The Lands and Natural Resources Ministry has for the third time extended the ban placed on all forms of small-scale mining.

“The ban has invariably been extended because we haven’t lifted it, we met with the Small-Scale Mining Association and clearly, our targets have not been met, and so we expect some level of collaboration, which the Association is closely working with us,” he stated.

Government on the assumption of office in January 2017, introduced the ban in May for a period of six months, but extended in October for another three months, which ended at the end of January this year.