The Ghana Chamber of Mines says government must deploy
all strategies to the combat illegal mining menace affecting mining
communities.
The President of the Chamber, Johan Ferreira, made
the appeal when he led a six-member delegation from the Chamber of Mines, to
officially pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Environment, Science,
Technology and Innovation, Mr. Akwasi Opong-Fosu, in Accra to find ways of
establishing partnerships between government and the chamber which will help
improve the nation’s mining industry.
The visit was also to afford the chamber and
government to work together and attract investments into the country’s mining
sector.
Mr. Ferreira explained that government continues to lose significant amounts of tax revenue every year as a result of such illegal mining activities, as it projecting a bad image for the entire mining sector among inhabitants of mining communities and negatively affecting the environment.
“We believe that with responsible mining, we can reduce any impact. Some activities of illegal miners are impacting negatively and we want to disassociate ourselves from such practices,” he stated.
He indicated the Chamber’s commitment to comply with all national and international laws on mining and assured the minister and government that his outfit will ensure companies engaged in the mining industry commit themselves to sustaining the environment.
Mr. Ferreira said Ghana is endowed with minerals, particularly gold, which ought to be properly harnessed; and promised that his outfit will support the Ministry to help address some of the environmental challenges facing the mining sector.
“The mining sector is a big sector that contributes about 68 percent of the country’s revenue, although the menace of illegal mining has given a wrong image of the sector.
“The Chamber of Mines is passionate about the environment and it will ensure mining companies comply with the rules and regulations in the country, which is the best practice anywhere in the world to protect the ecology.”
He commended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the introduction of the ‘Akoben’ System that seeks to bring some level of sanity into the environment sector, adding: “Over the past five years some of the mining companies have been doing well as a result of the checking system”.
The First Vice President of the Chamber, Kwame Addo-Kufour, observed that illegal mining is a threat not only to government and the Chamber of Mines but everyone in the country.
Mr. Ferreira explained that government continues to lose significant amounts of tax revenue every year as a result of such illegal mining activities, as it projecting a bad image for the entire mining sector among inhabitants of mining communities and negatively affecting the environment.
“We believe that with responsible mining, we can reduce any impact. Some activities of illegal miners are impacting negatively and we want to disassociate ourselves from such practices,” he stated.
He indicated the Chamber’s commitment to comply with all national and international laws on mining and assured the minister and government that his outfit will ensure companies engaged in the mining industry commit themselves to sustaining the environment.
Mr. Ferreira said Ghana is endowed with minerals, particularly gold, which ought to be properly harnessed; and promised that his outfit will support the Ministry to help address some of the environmental challenges facing the mining sector.
“The mining sector is a big sector that contributes about 68 percent of the country’s revenue, although the menace of illegal mining has given a wrong image of the sector.
“The Chamber of Mines is passionate about the environment and it will ensure mining companies comply with the rules and regulations in the country, which is the best practice anywhere in the world to protect the ecology.”
He commended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the introduction of the ‘Akoben’ System that seeks to bring some level of sanity into the environment sector, adding: “Over the past five years some of the mining companies have been doing well as a result of the checking system”.
The First Vice President of the Chamber, Kwame Addo-Kufour, observed that illegal mining is a threat not only to government and the Chamber of Mines but everyone in the country.
He called for a collaborative effort from all
stakeholders to arrest illegal miners.
The second vice president of the Chamber, Alfred
Baku, disclosed that most companies within the industry are struggling to
sustain their operations.
Mr. Opong-Fosu said that government is ready and
prepared to work with the Chamber of ensure the country attracts maximum
investment into the mining sector.
“Some of the issues will involve chiefs and stakeholders
on the way forward, which will raise awareness,” he remarked.
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