Small-scale Miners Call For Scrapping Of Galamsey Task Force Committee

Concerned Small Scale Miner Association of Ghana has called on President Nana Akuffo Addo to, as a matter of agency, dissolve the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) and launch an investigation into their activities following the Anas tape expose that captured some its members.

According to them, the committee launched to monitor and regulate the activities of small scale mining to ensure sanity in the mining industry has been hit with fraud as the secretary to the committee; Charles Cromwell Bissiw is caught taking bribes.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association, Stephen Arhin, who made the call during an interview with Captain Koda, the Host of OTEC FM’s morning show dubbed “NYANSAPO” on Thursday said the committee goes to the field purposely to extort money from the small scale miners but not for monitoring, describing the act as a disgrace to the Presidency.

His call comes after the investigative piece christened ‘galamsey fraud’ uncovered massive scale of fraud perpetrated by some members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining by the Tiger Eye PI team.

The secret filming captured Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Mr. Charles Cromwell Bissiw, taking cash amounting to GH¢35,000 in three meetings through one Andy Owusu, a connection man, to circumvent the process to renew the mining license for ORR Resources Enterprise.

The Committee was established to supervise the ban on small scale mining which was imposed in March 2017 when it was observed that small scale mining was being used as a cover for irresponsible mining as well as even illegal mining in many parts of the country.

“We have gone through the vetting process and have been given stickers, billboards and other materials indicating that we can go to our concession and mine but none of us is working simply because we don’t have money to pay bribes. Anas Video has vindicated us that some government officials were mining despite the ban on small scale mining so the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining should be dissolved” he stated.

Stephen Arhin added that they have complained in several occasions that some government officials were mining illegally despite the ban of the small scale mining but nobody supported them, it is a “shame and disgrace on the Presidency”.

“We have the capacity to supervise ourselves and do proper mining to ensure sanity in the mining industry so the government should give the support, that’s all we need”.