Parliamentary Committee on Lands and Natural Resources Calls for Collective Action Against Galamsey

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Collins Dauda, has emphasized the need for a collaborative approach to address the issue of illegal mining, also known as galamsey, in Ghana.

Dauda made this call during a visit to Newmont’s operations in Ahafo North and South in the Ahafo region, where the Committee sought to familiarize itself with the mining company’s activities.

Government alone cannot solve Galamsey issues in the country. Everybody must play a part,” he emphasized.

Dauda highlighted the devastating impact of galamsey on the environment, including the destruction of water bodies and forests. He proposed a permanent military presence around river bodies and foreign reserves to deter illegal mining activities, describing the current practice of deploying task forces as a “knee-jerk reaction” to solving the problem.

We cannot accept it. Illegal operators who enter our foreign reserves to mine illegally, that cannot be acceptable. If we are able to do it for a number of years, it will die completely. We protect our water bodies and protect our forest reserves,” he stressed.

Alex Kofi Annin, General Manager of Newmont Ahafo South, interacting with the members off the Parliamentary Select Committee expressed deep concern about the impact of illegal mining on its operations raising environmental, safety, and economic issues.

Annin emphasized that illegal mining is a significant problem that puts lives at risk and causes irreparable damage to the environment.

Illegal mining is a bigger problem for the entire nation and for us because safety and life of people is our priority, people put their lives at risk doing illegal mining and that is our biggest worry,” Alex Kofi Annin.

The General Manager was worried that the activities of the illegal miners on Newmont’s operations meant that the company will have to use more resources to protect lives and properties on the mine thereby affecting other planned programmes.

The more we are threatened by operations of illegal mining, the more we spend resources to defend and protect lives and properties at the mine and this will certainly impact our outreach developmental activities, he lamented.

He added that Ghana is losing young energetic individuals within the communities and it’s essential that drastic measures are taken to stop this menace.

Newmont Ahafo mine was recently attached by machete and gun wielding individuals who wanted to undertake illegal mining on Newmont’s concession.

Calling on the government to find a lasting solution to galamsey, he emphasized that “People are dying, people are losing their lives, people are getting injured and that should be the utmost priority of everyone.” – Alex Kofi Annin

The acting CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ahmed D. Nantogmah, also reiterating the need for collaboration, noted that the Chamber is working closely with lawmakers to address the issue of illegal mining, in the country.

We want to work with the lawmakers to make the laws very friendly to mining companies who can protect their activities from illegal miners, from those who trespass,” Nantogmah noted.

“The outcome that we are looking for is a situation whereby the mining companies can continue to be viable and then continue to pay their taxes. So that’s what we are looking at, a win-win situation,” Nantogmah.

The parliamentary committee’s visit to Newmont’s operations underscores the need for stakeholders to work together to address the galamsey menace. By highlighting the concerns raised by mining companies and proposing solutions, the committee aims to contribute to the development of effective policies to tackle the issue.