Collective action needed to fight galamsey — Jinapor
In 2017, the government waged a relentless war against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. As part of measures to weed out the illegal miners, the government set up the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) to coordinate efforts aimed at sanitising the small-scale mining (SSM) sector. An initial six-month moratorium was placed on all forms of small-scale mining, and extended to almost two years, until it was lifted in December 2018.
Operation Vanguard, a military contingent, was deployed to mining communities to clamp down on illegal mining activities and arrest the perpetrators. Subsequently, the Operation Halt I and Operation Halt II teams were also deployed to focus on fighting galamsey in water bodies.
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Within the six-year period of the galamsey fight, millions of Ghana cedis have been pumped into various interventions to sanitise the SSM sector. However, it appears the fight has been elusive because large tracts of land continue to be destroyed, while rivers such as the Birim, Ankobra, Pra, Densu, Offin and Bia remain heavily polluted by the illegal miners.
Has the galamsey fight achieved the needed results? Our reporter, Timothy Ngnenbe (TN) sat with the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor (SAJ) recently for an interview.
Timothy Ngnenbe (TN:) Since 2017, the government has rolled out a number of interventions to fight illegal mining but people believe that this whole galamsey fight has been a failure. What is your view on that assertion?
Samuel Abu Jinapor (SAJ): First of all, let me say that I am not too sure that we should be looking at the matter of illegal mining from the point of view of success or failure or the win or loss of a battle. To be able to deal with galamsey, regulate it and turn it into a responsible industry which contributes to the national economy and the life of our country will be a process; it cannot be an event; it cannot be overnight. It will require systematic, sustained efforts and action over a period of time.
Secondly, it will not just be the responsibility of the government, neither will it be resolved only through the actions and inactions of the government. There are a good number of stakeholders whose attitudes and cooperation will have a major impact on our efforts to regulate the small scale mining (SSM) sector. The chiefs will have a role to play; the security agencies have a role to play; local authorities such as assembly men, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives have a role to play; so do citizens, particularly those from mining communities who will also have a role to play.
It will require the collective national action of all of us to be able to sanitise the mining sector of our country.
Results
TN: Sir, so what is your verdict on the galamsey fight? Have we achieved the needed results?
SAJ: Of course, the government has done tremendous work when it comes to the fight against illegal mining. However, there is still a lot of work to do, which will be done anyways. My own assessment of where we are today is that a great deal of progress has been made in relation to dealing with the issue of galamsey. But we still have not got to the point where we can say that we have a satisfactory situation when it comes to the SSM sector of our country.
TN: Fighting illegal mining requires a lot of resources. Between 2017 and now (2022), how much money has been pumped into the fight?
SAJ: It is true, the galamsey fight does require a lot of resources. Getting security officers out there in the field costs a lot of money. But I think the cost of the fight is in relation to the landscape of our country. The forest resources and forest cover of our country, the rivers and water bodies that have been destroyed is incomparable.
The amount of money that is used to deploy the security agencies such as the police and military to go and fight the illegal mining activities will literally be seen as a pittance considering what we lose as a result of the destruction that illegal mining has on our land, forests and rivers.
That we spent a lot of money in dealing with this menace over the period is never in doubt, but the considerable adverse effect on the environment is even at a greater cost.
TN: Yes, that is true, Honourable. But, how much has been spent so far?
SAJ: Oooh it is millions of Ghana cedis. I wouldn't have the figure here, but if you look at it, over the period, we deployed Operation Vanguard, Operation Halt I, Operation Halt II and all the various interventions we had to make to be able to deal with illegal small-scale mining.
But the point I am making is that the amount spent in terms of its relativity to what we are losing as a country vis-a-vis the impact the menace is having on the environment and survival of the country will be insignificant.
The real cost of the menace lies in the destruction of the landscape and the rivers. Currently, we are struggling to spend huge amounts to reclaim the land as a result of years of excavation through illegal small-scale mining; that is the real cost of galamsey to the country.
Timothy Ngnenbe (left), Reporter, Daily Graphic, in the interview with Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources
Reclamation
TN: You just mentioned that the country is spending so much on mined lands reclamation. The law requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minerals Commission to ensure that small-scale miners pose reclamation bonds into an escrow account to be used for reclamation, but for more than 22 years now, this law has not been enforced.
SAJ: The matter to do with reclamation bonds by small-scale miners is very much on the table and eliciting response as to whether we can get to the point where reclamation bonds are posted by small-scale miners.
As it is now, it is the large-scale mining companies that post reclamation bonds. What we have done though, is to insist that small-scale miners adopt what we call concurrent reclamation and revegetation, which is that when they mine, they reclaim the land and revegetate it concurrently. They do not excavate and later come to reclaim it. It is done concurrently and simultaneously to the excavation.
TN: You recently chaired the Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Illegal Mining (MCCIM) and came out with a number of measures to strengthen the galamsey fight. We know that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) was set up earlier by the President but had to be disbanded. How different is the MCCIM from the IMCIM?
SAJ: The erstwhile IMCIM was a committee set up by Cabinet to help fight the illegal mining menace. Secondly, that committee was populated by ministers of state. But the MCCIM that I chair now, is a normal committee by me (the minister) comprising various actors that I believe will be required to assist discharge the arduous task of fighting illegal mining.
The police, the army, the technical unit of the Lands Ministry, the Minerals Commission, the Forestry Commission and other stakeholders are all part of it.
TN: After numerous interactions, the fight against illegal mining appears elusive. Why is it difficult to crack down on the cartels?
SAJ: We need to understand that wherever we have the extractive industry, the issue of illegality is a major one. Whether it is the petrochemical industry, the mining industry, or whichever industry, illegalities are common.
What we call galamsey here in Ghana is called Zamazama in South Africa. I was watching a documentary on illegal mining in South Africa and the claim was that the illegal miners were threatening the lives of ministers and security officials with death as a means of perpetrating their illegal enterprise. It is the case in South Africa, Australia, Canada and across the world.
I don't make this point in defence, an excuse or a justification for illegal mining in Ghana, but I want to situate the menace in its proper context, which is that it is a complex phenomenon and will require concerted efforts to deal with it.
The common denominator when it comes to mining is gold; and gold is money; and when people are determined to pursue money, they are very recalcitrant and stubborn. But what is important, and the point I seek to make is that just as we appreciate the complexities, the determination of the government and the Lands Ministry to do all that is possible to sanitise this sector, regularise it and to weed out galamsey from the sector is totally unflinching. We are totally determined to do what it takes to protect the river bodies, the forest reserves, and the land of Ghana.
When you go to mining communities, you will realise that the SSM sector permeates every aspect of their lives. It is so pervasive and virtually, everyone is connected to it one way or the other.
We are determined to pursue every measure that will make us have a hand on it.
Aisha Huang
TN: The Chinese lady, known popularly as Aisha Huang, has been the talk of town in recent weeks. She has been arrested for allegedly involving herself in galamsey and other related mining activities. Given that she was previously arrested and let off the hook, people think nothing will come out of this current processes to prosecute her. What's your take on this?
SAJ: She must be prosecuted in accordance with the laws of our country, if she is found guilty; which I hope she would. These are not prejudicial comments. The counsel I received showed that she would be convicted.
She should be slapped with the most punitive sentence. The law that relates to foreigners being involved in small-scale mining should be brought down on her heavily.
TN: It is reported that Aisha Huang has incriminating recordings of big men and that is why she is able to slip through the net each them she's caught. What do you think about this?
SAJ: Wrongdoing must be exposed and if she has any material on people who are complicit, she should put it out there. We want to unravel the cartels and syndicate behind galamsey, so if she claims that some officials have compromised themselves, we want to know. Those matters should be exposed to the full glare of Ghanaians so that the culprits will also be made to face the law.
Tracking
TN: The deployment of drones and tracking devices to track and monitor the movement of excavators have been on the table for some time now. How far are we with this measure?
SAJ: First of all, we have passed the legislative instrument in place which gives us the mandate to monitor earth-moving equipment.
We are also collaborating with all the state agencies such as the transport ministry and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, to be able to monitor the earth-moving equipment.
Thirdly, work is far advanced with the University of Mines and Technology who are the consultant and lead implementers of this initiative. In a matter of weeks or months, we will have this system ready to track the earth-moving equipment across the country.
We have also put in place a number of measures including five speed boats for patrols of river bodies; we have procured 100 mercury-free gold processing equipment for miners to extract gold from the ore without using mercury; we are also rolling out community mining schemes in all the mining enclaves of our country for people to have an alternative to participate in responsible small-scale mining.
The National Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) has also been rolled out for people whose livelihoods have been affected by the illegal mining to get alternative employment.
We have done a lot of work, and we will continue to do more. But it is a continuous process and will require more consistent efforts, involving all stakeholders to get to a satisfactory situation with galamsey fight.
TN: As we draw down the curtain on this interview, is there anything else you would like to share with the public?
SAJ: Nothing much to add, except to call on all members of the public to see the fight against illegal mining as a call to national duty. We need to collectively fight it. Galamsey affects all of us so we need to fight it together. It is a collective responsibility.