Akufo-Addo dissolves Illegal Mining Inter-ministerial Committee over incompetence

Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has dissolved the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

IMCIM was established by the New Patriotic Party government to clamp down on illegal small mining also known as galamsey which was causing havoc to the country’s water resources and lands.

The Committee was headed by the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

The President has also decided to move the fight against illegal mining from the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.

Sources at the Jubilee House say the President will in the coming days hold a national dialogue with all stakeholders in the sector.

At his last state of the nation address, the President called for a collective effort in the fight against galamsey.

“There is one subject…I believe we the people need to have an open conversation, and that is the phenomenon of galamsey. Should we allow or not allow galamsey,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Illegal mining popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’ has over the past few years dominated national conversations following a major campaign by Citi FM about the devastating effect of the practice.

In 2017, Nana Akufo-Addo declared that he was prepared to put his presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey.

His declaration was amidst new measures such as the deployment of police and military personnel to arrest illegal miners across the country and the introduction of a community mining programme aimed at regulating small-scale mining in communities in an environmentally sustainable manner.