The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah says the ministry is under no illusion that the fight against illegal mining is an easy one - describing it as "a marathon and not a sprint." Consequently, he assured that his ministry was on course to achieve its mandate - to ensure the sustainable management and utilisation of the nation's lands, forests, and wildlife resources, as well as the efficient management of mineral resources for socio-economic growth and development."Let me also assure the good people of Ghana that we are steadfast, committed, and focused on winning this fight of our lifetime.
And with the political will and support of President Mahama, we will ensure that our water bodies are turned blue, our forests are turned green, and our environment is restored and preserved for posterity," he stressed. Mr Buah gave this assurance at the Presidency in Accra yesterday when he addressed reporters at the Government Accountability Series. To ensure sanity in the mining space, Mr Buah, MP, Ellembele, announced comprehensive legislative and policy overhaul of the Minerals Commission to make it fit for purpose to undertake its mandate. He said the policy overhaul would correct the imbalances that have plagued the mining sector over the years and secure a brighter future for the benefit of all Ghanaians. To this end, he said, the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019, is under review with extensive stakeholders engagement to have their buy-in. "Some significant changes that we are pursuing is one, to drastically reduce the number of years that prospective licenses are held for, from perpetuity to a defined minimal period," he hinted. Additionally, he said, the upper limit for a number of years for the grant of a mining lease would be reduced from 30 years to an agreed period, "obviously very reduced years."Thirdly, he said, development agreements would be abolished and community development agreements enforced, and impose a rate of an agreed percentage of gross revenue to the sale of minerals to fund community development projects to help fast track the development of mining communities. "How many times have we not talked about how mining communities are impoverished?
These transformational changes will see the accelerated development of our mining communities," he stated. A third-tier mineral right regime - medium scale mining - he said would be introduced to better manage the sector. "As we speak, we have only small-scale and large-scale.
We envision the new law to have a medium-scale regime.
