Mr. Kwaku Asomah Kyeremeh, Minister for Lands, Environment and Natural Resources, together with Prof. Albert Quarm, Member of Parliament (MP) for Manso-Nkwanta Constituency in the Ashanti Region, have officially launched a community mining programme at Manso-Nsiana to encourage legal mining in the area.
The scheme, reserved for only Ghanaian citizens, is expected to create about 116,000 direct and in direct jobs, and also reduce criminal activities within the catchment areas, especially among the youth.
Each concession of the community mining site is twenty-five acres for people in the community.
The Minister stated that mining, especially small-scale, which contributes about 37% of the total gold produced in Ghana, plays a significant role in the economy.
He noted that community mining, guided by law, would ensure sustainable livelihoods for the people and protect lands and water bodies for the benefit of the citizenry and generations unborn.
According to him, community mining is the preserve of indigenes, and that foreigners can only venture into the large-scale mining.
He said the activities of the miners would be properly regulated by law, in order not to endanger the lives of the citizens.
Albert Quarm, also a member of the Board of Directors of the Minerals Commission and Parliamentary Select-Committee on Lands and Environment, expressed his profound gratitude to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for community mining to serve as a job avenue for the teeming unemployed youth in the country, and also improve revenue generation.
The MP also appealed to the Minister to release more concessions to be part of the designated sites in the constituency to employ more youth within the district.
Mr. Nii Lamptey Olenu, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Amansie West, indicated that about 950 individuals with 75 associations have applied and registered to do community mining.
He commended the sector Minister and the MP for the introduction of the scheme in the area, and expressed the hope that it would serve as a source of direct and indirect employment for the residents.
In a related development, the Minister for Lands, on behalf of the Minerals Commission, through the mining development fund, donated Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to the administrators of the district to help in the fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The post Community mining goes to Manso-Nkwanta enclave appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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