Small-scale miners in Ghana are threatening to suspend their operations for two months over what they describe as persistent extortion, intimidation and harassment by security personnel involved in the fight against illegal mining.
The Small-Scale Miners Association of Ghana says some police officers, soldiers, immigration officers and politicians are allegedly using their positions to demand money from miners, including operators who hold valid licences.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, executive member of the association Michael Adu Gyamfi said the leadership was meeting to determine the next steps but warned that members were prepared to stop work if the alleged abuses continued.
He said the situation was putting the livelihoods of small-scale miners at risk and had reached a point where the association needed to send a strong message to authorities.
“As I speak with you, we are planning to suspend work. It is about time we send a clear message that small-scale mining is not a crime. We have been treated unfairly. I am encouraging all small-scale miners to join this agenda and let us suspend work for two months and see the repercussions. It seems the benefits of small-scale mining are being taken for granted,” Adu Gyamfi said.
He criticised the way enforcement is being carried out in the mining sector, arguing that the continued use of force has made it increasingly difficult for legitimate operators to run their businesses.
“We have discovered how reckless the system has turned into. We want to draw the attention of authorities to our plight. The way small-scale mining is being regulated through the use of force is alarming,” he said.
According to Adu Gyamfi, some personnel assigned to combat galamsey are allegedly taking advantage of the enforcement operations to extort money from licensed miners.
“It has become a means through which those tasked to deal with galamsey and regulate the sector are making money out of licensed small-scale miners. They are extorting monies from us,” he alleged.
He claimed that miners regularly encounter different groups of security personnel demanding payments at their sites.
“Every single day, we have the police, immigration, soldiers, and other security officers as well as politicians extorting from us. When you go to Kumasi, we have three different teams of security officers storming our sites and demanding money from our members. It is unfortunate and it must stop,” he said.
Adu Gyamfi maintained that a reliance on force would not solve the illegal mining problem and argued that previous military-style interventions had failed to eliminate galamsey.
He said lasting solutions would require changes to the way the small-scale mining sector is regulated and a response to concerns raised by licensed operators.
The association’s proposed two-month suspension would therefore serve as a protest against what it considers unfair treatment while putting pressure on authorities to address the alleged abuses.
