[ 2014-09-26 ]

Reject Ghana’s New Draft Mining Law—ASMAN To Cabinet
We at the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining-Africa
Network have read an article which seems to
suggest that government of Ghana through the
sector Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is
currently put before cabinet a new draft law on
Mining and is expected to be passed by end of this
year
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=327374
and wish to describe the announcement as very
unfortunate.

From the reports as featured on Ghanaweb online
news portal and other related online news sites,
we at ASMAN wish to state categorically that we
are deeply saddened by it and finds it most
unfortunate.

In the article,a deputy minister of Lands and
Natural Resources Madam Barbara Asamoah is
reported to have stated at a “Growth Week”
conference currently ongoing in London that
Ghana’s new Mining Law was going to be ready by
end of year 2014 and that government was seriously
engaging all the stakeholders in Ghana’s Mining
sector.

We at ASMAN take a serious view of the statement
and dare to say that some major stakeholders in
the industry especially from the Small Scale
Mining enclave are hearing this so called effort
by government and the purported stakeholder
engagement for the very first time through these
online news articles.

Even most disturbing is the fact that, such an
important process has been kept away from some
major players in Ghana’s Mining sector such as
the Ghana National Association of Small Scale
Miners’ (GNASSM), The National Coalition on
Mining (NCOM) and the many various civil society
group working on Mining issues in Ghana yet the
Minister is reported to have some Media houses
that the passage process has delayed mainly
because of extensive stakeholder engagements.

We at ASMAN have always believed that Ghana as
country needs a comprehensive Mining Policy before
an effective and efficient Law can be promulgated
followed by detailed regulations.

We consider this announcement by the Minister on
such an international platform as unfortunate
especially at a time when Ghana’s Small Scale
Mining industry and the general Mining regime is
bedeviled with so many challenges and wish to
suggest that an extensive multi stakeholder
deliberations is required before promulgation of a
new Mining law this in our opinion will ensure
that the new Law is able to stand the test of the
challenging times.

We at ASMAN therefore wish to call on cabinet to
as a matter of procedure reject the new draft law
which according to the deputy Minister is
currently before them and order the sector
Ministry to engage all other relevant
stakeholders.

Signed
Edward Kwasi Akuoko
(Director, Policy & Research-ASMAN)

Source - ASMAN

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