Inusah Fuseini, Minister for Lands & Natural Resources, has called for closer partnership with industry and other stakeholders in the mining sector to counter the mounting negative environmental and socio-economic consequences of the illegal activity.

He said the ad-hoc; disjointed and fragmented approach adopted in the campaign against the problem in the past could not work and called for “a comprehensive and a well-coordinated, structured and focused strategy to root out the menace.”

According to him, the ‘galamsey’ challenge was spiraling out of control, especially compounded by the influx of foreign illegal miners in spite of a transparent framework instituted by Government which allows both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians to engage in legitimate businesses in the sector.

He emphasized that it was “totally unacceptable for foreign ‘galamsey’ operators to enter our country and openly disregard our laws and pollute our water bodies and degrade our environment with impunity for their personal gain.”

Mr Fuseini made these known when Tony Aubynn, Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mine, led an eight-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on him to congratulate him on his appointment as sector minister.

The visit also provided the chamber with an opportunity to explore possible strategies to deepen the partnership between government and industry for an accelerated development of the sector.

The minister emphasized that government was committed to forging a “grand alliance” with industry to tap the requisite capital and technology for the orderly exploitation of the nation’s resources. “We have to go behind the scenes to uncover the real masterminds and powerful people funding these illegalities to quench this menace once and for all.”

He also pledged to put modalities in place to ensure that equipment and machinery seized from ‘galamsey’ operators during security operations were confiscated to the State to ramp up the cost of the illegality and make it unattractive.

On the review of stability agreements for mining companies, Hon Fuseini intimated that the exercise will be conducted in a manner to ensure standardization and assured the chamber that Government will sustain an attractive fiscal regime for operators in the industry, stressing that he “will not do anything that will impact adversely on the investment of mining companies.”

Dr. Aubynn commended the President for appointing someone with an excellent knowledge of the extractive industry as sector minister and pledged to work closely with the minister for the sustainable development of the sector.

He intimated that the chamber will also collaborate with the ministry to put together an appropriate mining policy that would maximize the participation of Ghanaians in the mining industry.