Small scale mining not a criminal venture, don’t ban it – Miners tells government

A leading member of licenced small-scale miners, Reginald Owusu Boampong, has called on the government to tread cautiously, not succumb to pressure, and impose an outright ban on all forms of small-scale mining across the country, despite the mounting demand.

According to him, operating responsible small-scale mining is not a criminal activity as it is currently perceived by the public and, therefore, the government should find alternative solutions to curb the illegal mining menace rather than banning mining altogether.

In a press release, Owusu Boampong argued that there would be dire consequences for the country should the government impose a total ban on all forms of small-scale mining activities.

“I do not support the pollution of the rivers and water bodies in the country and the destruction of the country's forest reserves through illegal mining (galamsey) activities but there are other forms of measures and approaches the government could apply to curb the situation rather than putting an outright ban on small scale mining activities which Ghanaians are advocating,” he said.

“It will be a more disastrous consequence when the government bans all forms of small-scale mining activities because research has shown that over 3,000,000 people benefit direct and indirect jobs from the activities of responsible small-scale mining activities in the country,” he added.

Owusu Boampong’s call follows a similar argument espoused by the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), Godwin Amarh, asking not to tag every small mining business as illegal (galamsey).

Amarh said there was a need for a clear understanding of small-scale mining before labelling it as illegal.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, Amarh said, “In small-scale mining, we do not work on river bodies. Anyone you see on a river body is not a small-scale miner. Any person you see by the roadside working close to a river is not a small-scale miner. These are illegal miners.”

He stated some miners operated as legitimate entrepreneurs, adhering to legal mining regulations.

Amarh said since only a small number of individuals are involved in illegal activities, the association does not support a total ban on the entire sector.

He noted the association had worked to improve the Bia River, reducing turbidity levels from around 2000 to approximately 50 within one to two weeks.

Amarh acknowledged that, like in any profession, some small-scale miners may engage in illegal activities.

“There are people who, in one way or another, fall victim to the defects of their industry, so I would not claim that small-scale miners are a hundred percent adhering to everything.

“We cannot say we have everyone doing everything hundred percent. In the same way, we have journalists and doctors, they work and there are mistakes; issues also happen. So, I am not holding brief for any small mining, that the sector does not have any challenge in terms of environmental issues by one or two people,” he clarified.

See Reginald Owusu Boampong’s press release here:

PRESS RELEASE.

SMALL-SCALE MINING IS NEVER A CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AS BEING PERCEIVED.

Why the calls by well-meaning Ghanaians including Civil society organisations, labour unions, health service practitioners etc piling up so much pressure on the government to place a total ban on all sorts of small-scale mining activities in the country?

In recent times the issue of illegal mining (Galamsey) activities has generated public discussions in the country due to the rate at which the country's rivers and water bodies have been polluted by illegal miners.

The government under the able leadership of His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has been highly criticised for not winning the Galamsey fight as he wished to do when assumed office in the year 2017.

Even though the management of Ghana Water Company has come out to complain bitterly about the rate at which it is spending huge amounts of money in treating the polluted rivers to get clean, hygienic portable drinking water to serve the nation not every responsible small-scale miner in the country is engaging into illegality.

It baffles my mind to have been hearing from some health practitioners in the country saying that deformities associated with newborn babies are a result of small-scale mining activities because of the poisonous substances we use to wash the soil in order to extract the gold.

I don't agree with those who make those comments because activities of small-scale mining have been carried over centuries and these deformities associated with newborn babies have been persisting for years so why do these health service practitioners claim it’s the activities of small-scale mining?

As a responsible and licensed small-scale miner, I dispute the fact that our operational activities are killing innocent people in societies and deforming people.

Doesn't deformities occur to newborn babies in advanced countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and other European countries and could one say it is as a result of small-scale mining activities?

As a responsible and licensed small-scale miner, I see this call on the government of the day as untimely and an agenda being perpetuated to undermine the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, to enable the political party in government to lose votes in the upcoming December 7th general elections.

I do not support the pollution of the rivers and water bodies in the country and the destruction of the country's forest reserves through illegal mining (galamsey) activities but there are other forms of measures and approaches the government could apply to curb the situation rather than putting an outright ban on small scale mining activities which Ghanaians are advocating.

It will be more disastrous consequences when the government ban all forms of small-scale mining activities because research has shown that over 3,000, 000 people benefit from direct and indirect jobs from the activities of responsible small-scale mining activities in the country.

I thank you for your attention and God bless our homeland, Ghana.

Signed.

Reginald Owusu Boampong.

(Responsible/Licenced small-scale miner).