Encouraging news as Ghana's Council of State speaks up

Last week the Council of State, a body of prominent Ghanaians who advise the President on matters of state, were in the Western Region to familiarize themselves with the issues on the ground in the region to be able to better advise the President. They saw for themselves the ravages of Galamsey and Irresponsible mining on the communities of Telekubokazo (where 16 year old Azane drowned in a gulley filled with mercury and contaminated water) and its environs in the Ellembelle district.

Following the visit, we are glad to learn that the august Council, led by Dr Nana Otuo Siribuo II, a well respected Paramount Chief and a professional in his own right, has called for changes in the country's mining licensing regime in order to sanitize the sector. This call couldn't have come at a critical time, especially looking at the level of irresponsible mining done by many of these "licensed" mining companies. A case in point is the level of destruction and human endangerment strewn around almost all of the mining concessions of BCM Group's Adamus Project sites in the Western Region of Ghana, including the one at Telekubokazo.

It is worth noting as well that the Galamsey Action Group had also shared a copy of our Solution Proposals with the Council. Review a summary of our proposals here. 

It is our hope that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his team will heed this advise, and, in line with our proposal, give itself the necessary time to properly review and sanitize the entire surface mining / small scale mining sector in Ghana.