200 Mining Guards To Start Work Soon – Fmr. Minerals C’ssion boss

Government has started the training of mining guards to monitor and enforce mining regulations along mining centres in the country, a former Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission has disclosed.

According to Benjamin Nii Ayi Aryee, the intention of the government is to train 600 guards for the mining job, but 200 of the guards have so far undergone the training.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Thursday, Mr. NII Ayi said the trained guards will soon begin work to ensure enforcement of mining regulations in the country.

“Government has started the training of 200 mining guards, the intention is to get 600 guards but 200 have started. They have not started work but they have been trained and I believe they will start work soon”. – he said. 

Meanwhile, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asoma Cheremeh has hinted that the ban on small scale mining will be lifted by end of 2018.

The Minister who although could not specify the month and day told journalists that plans are underway for a final decision to be made.

“…the ban will soon be lifted but the exact date is what I cannot say for now. I believe the inter-ministerial committee on illegal mining will soon attend a meeting and that discussion will come off for us to know when it will be lifted; but I believe that it will soon, maybe before next year it would have been lifted.” He noted

In February 2017, the government imposed a six-month ban on all forms of small-scale mining in a bid to clamp down on the destructive activities of illegal miners.

The ban, which was initially expected to be lifted by the end of October, last year, was extended by another three months.

Following that extension, the Small-Scale Miners Association of Ghana has on many occasions impressed on the government to lift the ban.

The government, however, indicated that it was rolling out the Multi-sectoral Integrated Mining Project (MMIP) and alternative livelihood projects after which the modalities for the lifting of the ban would be spelt out.