Ace Anan Ankomah, Convener of Occupy Ghana, has expressed strong opposition to the idea of banning all mining activities in the country, despite pressure on the government.
He argues that legitimate mining companies should not be grouped with illegal operators, highlighting the financial repercussions for both the nation and law-abiding businesses.
In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle, Ankomah emphasized the importance of distinguishing between responsible and irresponsible mining practices.
He advocates for targeting illegal mining activities specifically, rather than implementing a blanket ban on all mining operations.
“When you give someone the mining lease or the small-scale mining license, it’s for a certain term, you say that you have the power to revoke it, specifically upon the breach of the rules. So, I’m mining, I haven’t breached the law. She/he is breaching the law and sometimes coming into my concession to mine. They say ban all of us.
“Moratorium may have to involve some level of engagement. But why do you want to tell the big mines who haven’t breached any of the laws that stop? Yeah, we agree, moratorium, how long? There’s a financial cost, not just to them but to the nation. The law says you can’t mine at certain places, and to the extent that they have given leases into forest bodies, we’re asking them to put them on hold. Some of the calls are for an outright ban on all mining which will not be absolutely feasible.
He stressed, “There’s a law that says that you can’t mine within a certain zone of water bodies…Mining is not pretty, it’s not pretty anywhere. Mining when you see it, looks like savaging the earth. To the extent that the mine is operating legally, I don’t think that we should be talking about them at all. If a duly licensed or leaseholder is breaching the law, we identify that leaseholder and deal with that lease holder or that license holder.
Ace Anan Ankomah, joined calls for a moratorium on mining activities on water bodies, expressing the belief that a moratorium would help address the pollution of water bodies.
By supporting a moratorium, Ace Ankomah emphasised the need to protect Ghana’s water bodies and ensure sustainable mining practices.
“For the illegal part, we should immediately do the moratorium, that one I agree with. There’s a law that regulates how close you can go to the water body…If we want to do this, we can do it. The calls for a moratorium in mining water bodies and forest reserves, I support 100%.”
