Miners must reclaim degraded lands after operations – Mahama Ayariga

Ghana's Minister-designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has urged small-scale miners to undertake land restoration following the conclusion of mining activities. During a vetting session before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday, August 27, Ayariga emphasized the need for stronger monitoring and enforcement to promote responsible and lawful mining practices.

He advocated for increased funding to bolster the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission, with the aim of enhancing their ability to oversee mining operations nationwide. "Let's increase investment in EPA and have a lot of people at the EPA, let's invest in the Minerals Commission and have a lot of mining engineers who identify every district and every single space where mining activity is taking place," Ayariga stated.

According to Ayariga, enhanced monitoring would enable authorities to monitor mining activities, ensure compliance with regulations, and hold operators accountable for environmental degradation. He stressed that miners would be responsible for restoring the lands impacted by their operations, stating that "whoever that carries out that activity will reclaim the area and plant and make sure that they restore the area to what it was."

Ayariga proposed this approach as a means to balance effective regulation with land reclamation and environmental restoration, aiming to minimize the long-term impact of mining on communities and the environment.