Community Mining project goes to Bompieso - Expected to create 5,000 jobs
The government has launched a Community Mining Programme at Bompieso in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region to support responsible mining and avert environmental degradation.
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The scheme is also to divert the interest of the youth from illegal and unregulated mining to ensure properly regulated mining in an environmentally friendly manner.
At the launch, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mines, George Mireku Duker, said the introduction of community mining was to cause a remarkable positive shift in the economic fortunes of the residents.
Community mining, he said, was introduced by the government and aimed at formalising illegal small-scale mining or galamsey in selected communities across the country.
Job creation
Stating that the programme was expected to create more than 5000 jobs, he said; “I am hopeful that with the launch of the Bompieso Community Mining Scheme (CMS), the community would move towards the path of economic success anchored on a sustainable and responsible mining module known as the Community Mining Scheme.”
The core objective of the scheme he said was to address the destruction that illegal mining caused to the environment and to enable youth participation in the scheme.
He said illegal mining had devastating consequences on the environment, posing a threat to human life through the use of toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide in water bodies and deforestation due to the indiscriminate felling of trees among many others.
“Let me reiterate that with the scheme in your community, it will create jobs for the people and provide direct and indirect employment for many people, including the women and youth here at Bompieso and protect the environment,” he said.
Water bodies
“Nananom and everyone here must remember the importance of our water bodies and help us protect them from harmful mining activities.
We know illegal miners try to influence chiefs and opinion leaders in the communities to allow them to undertake their activities.
Still, I want to appeal to you all to rise and reject such offers and help the government protect our water bodies.
“The President is only one person and cannot be everywhere at the same time, but we the locals have a responsibility to help fight the menace.
Reject anything meant to influence you and let's clamp down on illegal mining activities in the country.
The CMS is for all Ghanaians and is capable of creating many jobs for most Ghanaians” he stated.
The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, reminded the people that the government was not against small-scale mining, saying, “We want to raise Ghanaian giants in the mining industry and ensure that we all benefit from it through the ownership of the productive assets.”
Huni-Valley
For her part, the board chairperson of the Minerals Commission, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, said the government had fulfilled most of its promises to Ghanaians, especially the people of Prestea Huni-Valley.
She said the community was expecting at least 10 of the CMS projects in the municipality.
“We already have some mining concessions operating and we will soon launch the others to help boost economic activities in the municipality, the region and the country as a whole,” she said.
