Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana
Date of Publication
1-1-2020 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Illegal Mining
Keywords
Illegal mining, Ghana, artisanal small-scall mining, government corruption
Description
Illegal mining has been banned in Ghana because of its environmental impacts, especially on water bodies. The ban on artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) is intended to promote environmental sustainability while the government takes steps to promtoe environemtnally-friendly ASM. This paper analyses the perception of registered miners don't he current approach by the government to stop illegal mining. Three main causes were highlighted by participants as reasoning behind illegal mining, namely corruption of Ghanaian government officials; non-enforcement of laws; and the inconvenient licensing procedures. Licensed miners do not believe the government has dealt with the ASM operators well. They believe that if the approach the government takes is not handled properly, it will amplify the corrupt practices of officials. This study calls for the involvement of all relevant stakeholders - legal and illegal - who are affected by the ban of ASM to be involved for the successful management of Ghana's ASM sector.
Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana
Illegal mining has been banned in Ghana because of its environmental impacts, especially on water bodies. The ban on artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) is intended to promote environmental sustainability while the government takes steps to promtoe environemtnally-friendly ASM. This paper analyses the perception of registered miners don't he current approach by the government to stop illegal mining. Three main causes were highlighted by participants as reasoning behind illegal mining, namely corruption of Ghanaian government officials; non-enforcement of laws; and the inconvenient licensing procedures. Licensed miners do not believe the government has dealt with the ASM operators well. They believe that if the approach the government takes is not handled properly, it will amplify the corrupt practices of officials. This study calls for the involvement of all relevant stakeholders - legal and illegal - who are affected by the ban of ASM to be involved for the successful management of Ghana's ASM sector.
