Political parties asked to prioritise small-scale mining

Political parties have been called upon to prioritise issues on small-scale mining in their manifestos for the upcoming 2016 general election.

The Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Africa Network (ASMAN) said, “We are making this call in the wake of our belief that not much commitment and attention seem to have been given to the small-scale mining industry by current and previous governments, despite its enormous economic benefits to the nation.”

The Director of Policy and Research of ASMAN, Mr Edward Kwasi Akuoko, said it was the view of the group that putting in place specific clauses in the policy documents (manifestos) of political parties would strengthen all stakeholders  to hold political parties accountable. 

They would also use it as a benchmark to measure the parties’ real commitment to developing and improving the industry.

Mr Akuoko said at the moment, Ghana’s small-scale mining sector contributed 1.4 million ounces of gold,  representing 34 per cent  (more than a third of the country’s total annual gold output) and 100 per cent total production for the diamond sector.

Yet, he said the sector had not received any substantial support from any government towards enhancing its development to produce more to increase revenue earnings in terms of foreign exchange as well as employment opportunities. 

Mr Akuoko said as a civil society organisation committed to the promotion and development of an environmentally friendly and responsible small-scale mining industry. ASMAN expected political parties, especially the major ones, to have policy statements on some of the concerns in the industry.

He enumerated some of the concerns to include a progressive policy to reform and transform the sector from its largely informal base to a formal one that would have at least 80 to 90 per cent of the operators regularising their activities in order to effectively monitor them. 

This, when done, he said, would also increase government’s tax revenue, since those in the informal sector did not have any obligation to the state.

Also, Mr Akuoko suggested an environmental policy to manage and remedy the current environmental mess, which includes abandoned pits, polluted water bodies and massive deforestation occasioned by the massive illegality perpetuated against the country by some illegal miners, including foreigners.

It also called for a policy to adopt and promote a mercury-free technology among small-scale mining operators to safeguard the environment and human life as well as depict the government’s commitment to the Minamata Convention to which Ghana had become a signatory since 2014.

Among other things, he also called for a comprehensive policy to provide technical and financial support to small-scale mining operators to increase productivity through efficient and best practices, as well as pay equal attention to other areas of the sector such as salt mining and sand winning.