'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.
Ghana's Lands Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, delivered a clear message at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District, asserting that the country can mine gold without compromising its land, rivers, and the livelihoods of future generations. This sentiment was reinforced at the inauguration of five Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) societies - Salman, Atomic, Asanta, Bomoakpole, and Akropong.
The inauguration ceremony, held on Friday, October 16, signified a significant step towards bringing small-scale mining under effective regulation, as the government aims to restore order to the sector while demonstrating its potential to be both economically rewarding and environmentally responsible.
The Minister presented certificates and permits to the cooperatives, granting them the authority to operate within approved concessions. He emphasized that the initiative was a deliberate attempt to reshape the future of small-scale mining in the Western Region, moving away from the long-standing perception of small-scale mining as informal, unsafe, and environmentally destructive. Instead, he envisioned a model built on legality, safety, and shared prosperity.
Akwasi Adjei Bawuah, the Regional Director of the Department of Cooperatives, described the ceremony as more than a formal event. He stressed that the five societies had a responsibility to replace outdated perceptions of small-scale mining with a cooperative model centered on legality, safety, and shared prosperity. He urged members and executives to adopt their cooperative bylaws as the foundation of their operations, stressing that no individual should be more important than the society itself.
Adjei Bawuah called for transparency in record-keeping, open weighing of gold, fair sharing of proceeds, and accountability in the management of members' money. Safety equipment, including helmets and boots, should become standard practice for all members. Additionally, he emphasized that tree planting and land reclamation should be integrated into the operations of each society, ensuring a commitment to environmental stewardship.
Written by urgent.news from 3News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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