Community mining poorly regulated – Environmentalist

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Environmentalist and one time Parliamentary candidate for Atiwa East Constituency in the Eastern Region Okyere Boateng has said that the community mining has been poorly managed and regulated.

Speaking on Radio 1 (100.17) ‘Our Land Our Future’ program, he said the community mining is a good initiative but poorly regulated.

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, launched the Community Mining Schemes to replace ‘galamsey’ and to reduce illegal mining.

Launching the schemes, President Akufo-Addo explained that the Community Mining Scheme is an initiative meant to encourage responsible small-scale mining, in line with the Minerals and Mining Law, 2015, Act 703, in communities across the country.

“I was of the view, a view shared happily by the majority of Ghanaians, that, if we allowed it to continue, we would be jeopardising both our present and our future. Our responsibility, to this end, was clear,” he said, adding that “one of the measures instituted by Government to deal with the menace of galamsey is the Community Mining Scheme.”

However, Okyere Boateng said “It is very good initiative providing jobs for the youth and helping in community development but the ragulation is poor very poor just like galamsey.”

He added that they always leave the site with holes making it a death trap to the people of the community.

“Their site is always a death trap, they do no cover ups a few of them do the necessary by covering the holes up. If there is a proper regulations this won’t happen, ” he sated.

Siting an example he said there is a miner in Ayinam called Raster “he has started planting coconut on his mining site giving the land a fresh life. This is what everyone should be doing but there is no regulation.”

Source: Radiooneghana.com /Michael Agyapong Agyapa