Gov’t assures small scale miners of transparency in vetting process

• Posted on September 4, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Government has assured that it will be transparent in the nationwide vetting of small scale miners.

Government on Monday September 3, 2018, began the vetting of small scale miners as part of a road-map towards the lifting of the ban on all forms of small-scale mining in the country.

The process also forms part of efforts to sanitize the country’s mining industry and ensure that persons engaged in the commercial activity do so in a responsible, environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner.

The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners has asked the government to be transparent in the exercise.

Reacting to the concerns of the miners, Charles Bissue, coordinator of the Presidential Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said the exercise is opened to miners who have obtained their licenses, hence will not be discriminatory.

“We are doing it transparently, the advert was not done in an NPP paper. It was done for the whole country and communicated to the whole world so it is opened to the whole world. However, we have actually stated that those who want to come here and these are people who have licences as at the 1^st of April and that is how we are doing it.”

Godwin Armah, General Secretary of the Association of Small Scale Miners, said the government should not interfere in the process.

“What we are proposing is that it shouldn’t be political.  We shouldn’t see it as a political venture where certain people will be favored, and others will not be favored. What we are looking for is small-scale mining and people who have genuine licenses are the people who are going to be vetted so they should go through.”

“The documents say those who are vetted will be made to go back to work once they have gone through and have availed themselves,” he stressed.

Mr. Armah believes, the vetting, when made free and fair, will make it easier to streamline the activities of miners.

“And the vetting, they have made it clear that we want to know where each person is put in the system and ensure that they get the various ID cards so that when they have their signage they will be able to identify a legal operator from a person who has not gone for the requisite licenses.”