The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners is backing the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin who has threatened to resist government’s community mining program.
According to the Okyenhene, the program which was introduced to regulate illegal small scale mining nationwide has rather degraded lands and caused pollution to water bodies.
Speaking to an Accra based TV station, the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Godwin Armah said the Okyenhene’s concerns are genuine.
He says people are hiding behind community mining and perpetuating illegality and that any activity that goes on in areas that have not been earmarked by the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands is illegal.
He said there is no difference between this and the galamsey period. To him people just post the president’s stickers around and begin to mine illegally while others with no license are mostly supported by their District Chief Executives.
He said the Okyenhene is not wrong to refer to community mining as illegal mining in disguise.
