Takoradi MP Proposes Engineer for Every Mining License to Curb Galamsey

Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Takoradi, has called for government to assign a dedicated engineer to every mining license issued to help curb illegal mining, or galamsey.

Contributing to a debate in Parliament on the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Follow-up Report of the Auditor-General on three audits — Regulating Small-Scale Mining for a Sustainable Environment, Sustainability of Sports Stadia in Ghana, and Administration of Scholarships by GETFund — Mr. Darko-Mensah said current monitoring by regulatory agencies is inadequate.

“Agencies like the EPA and the Minerals Commission are virtually absent in the districts,” he said. “What they do is they go there like a task force, they come, and the people do anything that they like.”

The Takoradi MP argued that revenue generated from mining should be enough to fund proper monitoring.

“If you look at the revenues we are able to generate from mining, we should be able to easily fund this budget,” he stated.

He proposed that immediately a mining lease is issued, an engineer should be assigned to monitor operations from prospecting to full-scale mining.

He added that even engineers who are not specifically geologists can be upgraded to fit the purpose, and that the policy would also create employment for engineers in the country.

Mr. Darko-Mensah further urged government to commit to new mining technologies, citing innovations developed in Ghana and others previously implemented under the Minamata Convention, which Ghana has signed.