Illegal mining, a major source of water pollution in W/R

The activities of illegal small-scale mining operators have been identified as the major source of water pollution in mining communities, especially in the Western Region.

At Nkroful in the Ellembelle District and Wassa Amenfi East District, both in the Western Region, activities of small-scale miners are a major problem -- threatening the health of the people living in those communities who depend on the polluted water-bodies for their domestic use.

However, the district agencies whose duty it is to monitor and enforce the laws do not have adequate capacity to enforce the laws, and have therefore failed in the execution of their monitoring and supervision roles.

Indeed, the environmental effects and other demerits of small-scale mining operations prima facie look overwhelming. But a holistic and dispassionate look at the real issue might tempt one to side with the sentiments of the small-scale miners.

It is important however to distinguish between the licenced small-scale miners, who have been licenced under the small scale Gold Mining Law (PNDCL 218) -- now replaced by sections 81 to 99 of the new Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703)--  and the illegal operators, popularly referred to as galamsey operators.

The small-scale miners have no mining equipment that will prevent water-bodies from getting polluted, yet the Minerals Commission continues to issue operating licences to them.

Mining experts describe small-scale mining as being similar to illegal mining due to the method both miners use to extract their gold. Experts further state that galamseyers are people who do gold mining independently for mining companies using crude methods such as digging pits, tunnels and sluices with their hands.

It is said that the word galamsey is derived from the phrase “gather them and sell”, which is what these artisanal miners do to survive. In practice, a small-scale mining operation in Ghana is based on a land plot measuring less than 25 acres.

There are however other indicators like work output and equipment used, which the Minerals Commission refuses to inspect before it makes recommendations to the ministry of lands and natural resource.

In Ghana the small-scale mining industry is reputed to be well over 2,000 years old and is still being treated as an informal industrial sector, even though the sector employs thousands of people who use largely rudimentary, unmonitored and uncontrolled practices which are not monitored by the environmental protection agency.

Small-scale mining activities in Ghana remained unregulated, and therefore the government does not receive any revenue from their operations

Newmont Akyemto construct theatre for Abirem Hospital

The Newmont Akyem Mining Company is constructing a GH₵437,000 modern surgical theatre for the New Abirem Government Hospital in the Birem North District. 

The theatre, which is expected to be completed in six months, will consist of two theatre rooms, two staff changing-rooms, two recovery wards, and three operating rooms.

Addressing a ground-breaking ceremony for the project, the General Manager of Newmont Akyem Project Mr. Kevin Moxham said health provides life and promotes development -- hence Newmont has made the provision of health infrastructure one of its core commitments in all its mining communities.

He said the company had spent GH¢2,000,000 for the provision of infrastructure such as maternity, female and male wards, nursing and doctors quarters, a 265 KV standby generator and a mechanised borehole for the hospital.

He said: “Newmont has also partnered a non-governmental organization -- Project Care of USA -- to regularly provide assorted medical equipment; not only for the New Abirem Government Hospital alone, but also to nearby hospitals and satellite clinics nearby.

“The huge investment the Newmont Akyem Project is making into health, education, security, water and sanitation, are aimed at providing quality lifestyles to the people in the mining communities where the company operates.”

The Deputy Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mr. Mica Asare-Bediako, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) commends Newmont for the project and the chief of New Abirem for providing land for it.

He assured that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) will post competent medical specialist to the hospital for it to become a mini- teaching hospital.

The External Affairs Manager of Newmont , Mr. Felix Apoh said, US$129,000 has been realised from the one dollar for every one ounce of gold produced by the company agreement with the mining communities, and it will soon be paid into the Akyem Project Development Foundation to support development of the area.

The Chief of New Abirem, Obirempong Kwasi Amo Kyeretwire, appealed to Newmont to help the community establish a Vocational Training Institute to train the youth in technical skills that enable them to seek employment elsewhere, because the mining company alone cannot employ all the 40,000 youth of the affected area.

The Abiremhene later performed the ground-breaking ceremony for commencement of the project.

PPP law ready by mid-year

A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law is expected to be passed by the middle of this year to leverage public and private sector resources and expertise in order to close the infrastructure gap and deliver efficient public infrastructure and services.

The law will support the implementation of the national PPP policy that was launched by the government in 2012. It is expected to give confidence to both local and international investors who would want to participate in PPPs with the government.

The law will also ensure that the gaps in the Public Procurement Act in relation to PPP procurement practices and processes are addressed, and provide a clear definition of PPP projects and structures in a way to distinguish them.

Under the legislation, Parliament shall be the final approving authority for PPP projects -- subject to the provisions of the policy -- to ensure the protection of the public interest.

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has been mandated to prepare a national infrastructure plan for Ghana, and every PPP project initiated by contracting authorities shall emanate from this plan.

The Attorney-General’s Department, with the assistance and advice of the Legal Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP), shall ensure the conformity of all project agreements with Ghanaian law.

The country’s development partners, including the World Bank and DFID, are supporting a project to move the PPP process forward with a total of US$30 million over a five-year period. This is to assist in the improvement of legislative, institutional, financial, fiduciary and technical frameworks for PPPs and develop bankable projects.

The focus of the project is to build capacity in the various government agencies and assist them in developing and delivering PPP projects in the various sectors, making them bankable and sustainable.

Ghana is presently faced with a huge infrastructure gap averaging US$1.5 billion per annum for the next decade. This is required to bring the nation’s infrastructure to the recommended status of a middle-income country.

“The constraint of available resources provides the government with the ability to look for other innovative means of financing and procuring these projects, thereby expediting the delivery of the required infrastructure,” Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), told journalists at a workshop on PPPs in Accra.

He explained that the law has been designed by a private legal firm with a lot of stakeholder consultations aimed at meeting best international standards to attract the needed investment for the country's development.

Mr. Obeng said over the years, governments have been unable to provide adequate infrastructure due to lack of resources, technology and entrepreneurship.

“The PPP policy is expected to encourage and facilitate investment by the private sector by creating an enabling environment for PPPs where value-for-money could be clearly demonstrated -- as well as to increase availability of public infrastructure and services and improve service quality and efficiency of projects.

"It is also to encourage and promote indigenous Ghanaian private sector participation in the delivery of public infrastructure and services.”

He was confident that there would be continuity and commitment to roll-out PPP infrastructure projects for socio-economic development.

Mrs. Magdalene Apenteng, Director of the Public Investment Division of MoFEP, said: “PPPs have become one of the important tools to facilitate the implementation of the nation’s critical investment programmes. The adoption of a PPP framework therefore reflects the government’s desire to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness and timely provision of public infrastructure and services in the country.

“The government is mindful that PPPs are not a panacea for all public infrastructure investment needs, and therefore the PPP framework should be viewed as a complement to, and not a substitute for, the government’s continued commitment to open up key services markets to competition.

“PPPs should only be considered where they can provide greater value for money than other fully-private or fully-public service delivery options.”

She added that the private provision of public infrastructure enables the government to use the private sector’s delivery and project completion expertise and capabilities for the benefit of the people. It also helps the government better understand the whole life-cycle cost of investments and enables more rigorous project assessment.

Mr. Ekow Coleman, PPP Adviser/Financial Analyst at the Public Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance, said: “PPP initiatives are intended to apply to all sectors and levels of government and shall be pursued where they represent priority projects, are affordable to government and consumers, represent value for money and allow for appropriate risk transfer.

“Sector-specific PPP policies may be developed to accommodate the needs of specific sectors consistent with the overall government PPP policy.”

A PPP is a contractual arrangement between a public entity and a private sector party with clear agreement on shared objectives for the provision of public infrastructure and services traditionally provided by the public sector.

Ghana’s first attempt at PPPs was in 2004. However, some inadequacies, including the absence of a policy framework, led to difficulties in carrying the idea forward.