Mahama to transform mining sector and promote clean environment

Mining is very vital to the economy of Ghana. It attracts more than half of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and represents more than one-third of all export revenues. The mining industry is the largest tax paying sector in Ghana and contributes significantly to Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment.

Having established its importance to the economy of Ghana, it is only right we do not toy with this sector to create a 'no country.' The politics of mining in Ghana is unfortunate and we must rise up to protect the environment for a better climate. A country without a safe environment is a no country.

The Resetting Ghana Manifesto of the great NDC provides several ways of dealing with illegal mining while ensuring that the mining industry flourishes in a clean and safe environment. Giving the manifesto the space to operate will not be a bad idea for Ghana.

President Mahama has made it so clear that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who sat aloof for illegal mining activities to flourish under his administration will be fired and probed. This many agree is a giant step towards ending the galamsey menace.

The best way to protect ones valuables from been stolen is to keep them to the thief for safe keep. There are several reports of MMDCEs taking advantage of their positions to engage in illegal mining with impunity. A responsibility on the MMDCEs to take charge of ending illegal mining in their backyards is in order.

To achieve this, the NDC will decentralise regulatory and licensing processes for artisanal miners and implement a ‘Tree for Life’ reforestation policy (with cocoa, palm and rubber) and a Blue Water Initiative to heal and harness the environment by turning areas degraded by illegal mining into hubs of economic and ecological recovery. Decentralising regulatory and licensing authority will give the district assemblies more power to monitor artisanal miners and protect the environment.

Jobs have become a great concern in Ghana. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, unemployment have more than doubled to 14.7 percent under this administration and it is one of the major reasons why the young engage in galamsey and pollute our environment.

Excluding the 24-hour economy and other job interventions in the manifesto, President Mahama will set aside part of the royalties due to the government for direct leverage on infrastructure development in mining areas. Infrastructure in schools, hospitals, roads, etc will lead to more demand for teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers and other professionals. More indirect jobs will also be created.

President Mahama will also work with industry stakeholders to revamp the local goldsmithing and jewellery subsector to increase value addition and global competitiveness. To do this, the NDC will promote the production of branded coins and other artefacts and build the capacity of goldsmiths and jewellery makers. This again will create jobs and add value to our minerals for bigger foreign revenue.

It is visioned in the manifesto to recategorize mining in Ghana into small-scale (SSM), medium scale (MSM), and large-scale (LSM), each with tailored regulatory, operational, environmental, and safety requirements. This new nomenclature is required as we call for the protection of our environment in an ever changing mining sector

The manifesto will go further to promote sustainable SSM as a profitable and responsible business especially for young people by enforcing regulations and applying state-of-the-art technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to track all excavators and geo-fence all SSM concessions in Ghana. The use of AI and geo-fencing will help government notice illegal entry in real time for the necessary action to be taken.

The manifesto again will set up a Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to regulate and restructure the small-scale mining sector in Ghana. The GOLDBOD will ensure mining operations are not conducted in unapproved areas, such as water bodies and that concession holders rehabilitate impacted areas. It will also afford avenues for easy gold trade for small scale miners.

What is contained in the Resetting Ghana Manifesto is adequate enough to transform the mining sector in Ghana. We cannot continue to allow the undesirable 'self murder' opportunity we are creating for ourselves through the destruction of our environment.

There are reports in the news recently that yam and other foodstuffs exported from Ghana contains heavy metals. Heavy metals are a source of cancers and new born deformities. This portrays a bad picture for Ghana before the international community and therefore highly prone to sanctions.

Ghana must embrace John Mahama's vision to give a new life to the mining industry through the innovative ideas in the Resetting Ghana Manifesto. These ideas if implemented will create jobs, add value to our minerals and restore the environment to enhance Ghana's reputation and build a better world for all.