'Take the Gold, but restore the land' - Lands Minister charges five mining cooperatives

The message was clear at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District: Ghana can mine its gold without sacrificing its land, rivers and the livelihoods of future generations.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah delivered this charge at the inauguration of five Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) societies; Salman, Atomic, Asanta, Bomoakpole and Akropong.

The ceremony held on Friday, October 16 marked another step in the government’s effort to bring small-scale mining under effective regulation, with the Minister presenting certificates and permits to the cooperatives to support their operations within approved concessions.

He described the initiative as a deliberate attempt to restore order to the sector and demonstrate that mining could be both economically rewarding and environmentally responsible.

The Regional Director of the Department of Cooperatives, Mr. Akwasi Adjei Bawuah, described the inauguration as more than a formal ceremony, saying it represented an opportunity to reshape the future of small-scale mining in the Western Region.

He said the five societies had a responsibility to replace the long-standing perception of small-scale mining as informal, unsafe and environmentally destructive with a model built on legality, safety and shared prosperity.

Mr. Bawuah urged members and executives of the societies to make their cooperative bylaws the foundation of their operations, insisting that no individual should be bigger than the society.

He called for transparent record-keeping, open weighing of gold, fair sharing of proceeds and accountability in the management of members’ money.

Safety equipment, including helmets and boots, must become standard practice, while tree planting and land reclamation should form part of every society’s operations.

Source: Lands Ministry Mlnr Pr-Updates