Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mireku Duker, has told miners in the Western Region that Ghanaians living in the capital, want them to lose their jobs.
“Young men here, community mining is what you are engaged in but some people in Accra are saying we should destroy your jobs. Is that good news? The people in Accra are saying small scale mining should be banned,” he told miners gathered.
According to the minister, mining in the community in question is primarily underground mining, with no miner destroying water bodies.
“I am sure what you do here is underground mining. Do we destroy water bodies. Are there any water bodies here?” he asked with miners responding with a resounding no.
He described calls for the ban on small scale mining as unfair, as these miners depend on it as their source of livelihood.
“What I am saying is that galamsey is already illegal and it is already banned. So, if you say we should ban mining then you mean we should ban responsible mining,” he added.
With the immense destruction of water bodies and forest reserves by illegal mining activities in Ghana, there have been numerous calls to the government of Ghana by various groups to place a ban on illegal mining.
The government however insists that it will not be prudent to ban small scale mining in the bid to fight illegal mining.
This government will not ban small scale mining – Deputy Minister#UTVNews pic.twitter.com/1xZvjN1WPl
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) October 7, 2024
