The next NDC government will wage a ruthless war against the illegal mining menace and roll out an aggressive programme to reclaim our polluted water bodies, degraded lands and devastated forest reserves.
We will:
1. Place a ban on new mining activities in forest reserves.
2. Amend the Mineral and Mining Law to impose stiffer punishment on mining in water bodies.
3. Decentralise regulatory and licensing processes for artisanal miners.
4. Implement a ‘Tree for Life’ reforestation policy and a Blue Water Initiative to heal and harness the environment by turning areas degraded by illegal mining into economic and ecological recovery hubs.
5. Resource the geological survey department to prioritise geological investigation as part of a broader strategy to increase Ghana’s stake in its extractive industry.
6. Set up a novel Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to regulate the small-scale mining sector. The board will restructure the small-scale mining sector by:
• Provide mining support services to the industry, including concession viability, health, safety and efficiency in mining operations, equipment financing, research and standardisation, gold recovery optimisation, and postmining and land reclamation services.
• Compel small-scale miners to undertake skills training in land reclamation techniques as a required component of their operations to minimise their adverse environmental impacts.
• Place restrictions on the export of unrefined gold produced by small-scale mining companies in the medium term.
• Ensure that the Bank of Ghana’s gold purchasing programme will be backed by a metal leveraging programme with international bullion holders.
