Ayariga charges Regional Ministers, MMDCEs to take responsibility in galamsey fight

The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has charged Regional Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to take active responsibility in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey.

He warned that public officials who fail to act against illegal mining activities within their jurisdictions are equally contributing to the problem.

Speaking at the National Conference for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives on Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Kumasi, Mr Ayariga said the fight against galamsey must not be left solely to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

He stressed that Regional Ministers and MMDCEs, who operate within communities affected by illegal mining, have a critical role to play in addressing the menace.

“If you are not part of the problem, you must be part of the solution. And it is not only when you are directly, actively involved in mining that you are part of the problem. You can be part of the problem because you have seen people actively mining and you have looked the other way round,” he stated.

Mr Ayariga said he would not allow the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to shoulder the responsibility of combating illegal mining while local authorities failed to address activities within their respective jurisdictions.

He noted that although the Lands Minister was being held accountable for developments in the mining sector, Regional Ministers and MMDCEs must also be prepared to answer for what happens within their administrative areas.

“The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources does not sleep in our districts. His office is in Accra. There is so much that he can do to deal with the problem. But we, as MMDCEs and Regional Ministers, sleep in the districts where the action takes place, and there is so much that we can also do to fix the problem,” he said.

The Minister disclosed that he had resolved to personally engage in the fight against illegal mining, despite the political risks associated with confronting the practice.

He said he was prepared to move into what he described as the “line of fire” and ensure that Regional Ministers and MMDCEs demonstrated equal commitment to the campaign.

Mr Ayariga, however, clarified that the government’s objective was not to abolish mining, which he described as an important economic activity that had existed for centuries and would continue as long as Ghana had gold deposits.

He explained that the national campaign was specifically targeted at illegal mining rather than mining as an economic activity, stressing that Ghana’s laws do not prohibit mining but criminalise operations conducted outside the legal framework.

“What we’re here today to decode and to find a solution to is how do we deal with illegal mining? Because we’re not saying that our Constitution prohibits mining. We’re not saying that our laws prohibit mining. What our laws prohibit is illegal mining,” he emphasised.

The Minister urged Regional Ministers and MMDCEs to demonstrate leadership and commitment in tackling illegal mining, particularly in communities where the activities are taking place.