Small Scale Miners Struggling To Locate Concession For Community Mining-Anti-Galamsey Crusader(Contact)
An Anti Galamsey Advocate and a broadcast journalist , Mr.Isaac Ochem , has stated that community mining scheme which was introduced and implemented by the government of the day in 2018 and subsequently decentralized into MMDCES are struggling to function following their inability to located a concession to operate upon.
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This challenge,Ochem argues is impeding the epic fight against illegal mining.
Ochem is of the view that most of the large scale mining companies have registered their mining concessions in their names and this development is making it difficult for individuals who are interested community mining to have access to these lands for community mining programmes.
According to the Anti Galamsey Advocate and a broadcast journalist, many are illegal miners who have embraced community mining because it has come to replace the illegal mining activities ,adding that it will also create employment opportunities to the people in the various mining communities .
However, Ochem, who has embarked on fact-finding mission in mining communities , argues that anytime small scale miners come after a piece of land to mine upon, they are told by the search results at the Minerals Commission that the land belongs to a mining company and anytime they attempt to engage the said company to release the land to them for community mining ,it does not yield any results.
This, he noted , has been a stumbling block in their quest to engage in community mining in an area, where mining is the only job they can live on. Isaac Ochem made these assertions in a news release.
According to him, other small scale miners argues that the various MMDCEs are not helping the small scale miners to do responsible mining ,because per formation of the small scale mining ,it is the district assembly that leads ,but the assemblies are somewhat laggard in assisting the small scale miners to acquire a concession from the large scale mining companies.
Re-echoing the words of the youth who are interested in community mining, if the state has introduced community mining and the small scale miners are bereft of concession to work on, then they will go back to their illegality.
He said : “ The government has introduced community mining and they do not have the opportunity to engage in it to eke out a living , then they shall engage in illegal mining.”
In view of the above, Ochem has appealed to the government to engage the large scale mining companies ,concerning the grievances of the small scale mining companies.
This , he said , has been a challenge for the government to fight the illegal miners because if the government do not engage the large scale companies to lease out some of their mining concession to the small scale miners, it be a challenge for the state.
According to him, the deployment of military personnel to fight illegal mining comes at a huge cost to the state in that , the state is spending a lot on the menace of illegal mining concerning salary for the military, per diem , risk allowance among others.
He has therefore appealed to the government through the ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to meet with all large scale mining companies and engage them to support the scale miners by leasing out some of their concession to small scale miners for community mining activities.
This move, Isaac Ochem believes could turn things around for the state , adding that anything apart from engagement will see the illegal miners encroaching concession of large scale mining companies.
CONTACT THE ANTI-GALAMSEY CRUSADER
ON: 0594709216
