More than 220,000 people are expected to be employed under the Community Mining Scheme and Mine Support Service initiatives being implemented by government, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has indicated.
The two initiatives form part of the six operational modules of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), launched by the President, here at Tarkwa in the Western Region yesterday.
National Land Reclamation and Re-afforestation; Agriculture and Agro-Processing; Apprenticeship, Skills Training and Entrepreneurship and Community Enhancement Projects are the other modules.
According to him, the programme was to provide employment opportunities to persons economically impacted by the ongoing efforts to fight illegal mining in the five mining regions of the country.
At a brief ceremony to launch the programme, President Akufo-Addo explained that following the government’s heightened drive in recent times to deal with the illegal mining activities in the Red Zones, many illegal miners have lost their sources of livelihood.
In response to the loss of livelihoods, he said, was NAELP, which would seek to ameliorate the unavoidable and unintended hardships that had accompanied activities of Operation Halt II to clamp down on galamsey.
“It is intended to provide good economic livelihood options to the illegal mining and associated activities, to enable those adversely impacted to work and support themselves and their families,” he noted.
The National Land Reclamation and Re-afforestation component, he said, would reverse the negative impact of galamsey on the environment by restoring degraded lands into economically viable resource, creating job opportunities for the youth, landowners, and the communities at large.
He stated that the Community Mining Scheme component was designed to promote responsible, viable and sustainable small scale mining for the sector.
President Akufo-Addo said the government, through the Mine Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission, and the Regional Security Councils, have put in place enhanced monitoring and enforcement regime to ensure that all small scale mining activities were environmentally compliant.
He reiterated that government was not against small scale mining but was in full support of responsible small-scale mining activities, as it provided an avenue for Ghanaians to participate in the mining industry, and contributes about 40 per cent to the country’s gold exports.
The President cautioned Ghanaians against conniving with foreigners to mine without license in forest reserves and water bodies, saying that “anyone apprehended for such criminality will be made to face the law.”
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor said, so far five community mining schemes with twenty concessions have been launched at Mmampehia in the Ahanta West Municipality, Kwabre-Nuba in the Jomoro Municipality, Adukrom in the Ahafo Ano South-East District; Jacobu in the Amansie Central District and Akyim Abaam in the Kwaebibrim District.
These five Schemes, he explained, have the capacity to employ 26,300 people in direct and indirect employment.
He noted that the ministry was working to launch 18 Schemes with 100 concessions by the end of this year.
In total, Mr Jinapor noted that the ministry was looking toward to commissioning 100 community mining schemes across the country by the end of 2022.
“They will have, among others, functioning offices, proper database of miners, environmental officers on site, changing rooms for miners and sick bays. They will, truly, be modern community mining schemes, and, certainly, we will never permit these operations to be deployed as galamsey sites through the back door,”
FROM CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS, TARKWA
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