16:00 - 17:30
Room: Arts – Lecture Room 3
Stream: Natural Resource Governance and Sustainable Human Development in Africa
Chair/s:
Emmanuel Osuteye
Continuities and Transformations in Indigenous Mining in Ghana: A political problem requiring a political solutions?
Emmanuel Ababio Ofosu-Mensah
University of Ghana, Legon-Accra

The issue of mining in Ghana has attracted an important and recent debate. On the beneficial side, there are those who point to state revenue, industrial development, employment opportunities and social amenities such as the building of roads, schools and clinics and provision of electricity and granting of scholarships to children. Adherents to such a stance see mining as the propeller of economic development and growth.

However, there are those who see mining as leading to environmental degradation and exploitation. They argue that the mining sector is experiencing unprecedented challenges with negative impacts on the economy, environment, health and culture of the people. In March, 2017, the Ghana Water Company warned that the spate of water pollution by illegal ASM operators is approaching alarming levels, and that the country risks importing water for consumption by 2020 unless illegal mining activities are curbed. The looming danger posed to national life, as a result led to an expressing of public outrage against illegal mining activities and a call for it to be stopped. One of the most significant policy challenges in Ghana today revolves around the question of how best to maximise the benefits of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector while minimizing the negative consequences associated with it. This study investigates why illegal mining continued to flourish despite the state's efforts to regularize the sector through various policies and programmes. Secondly, it investigates why most ASM operators have chosen to remain illegal despite some opportunities for the state's support associated with the regularization of their activities. The findings of this study will assist policy makers to make informed decisions regarding mining in rural communities elsewhere.


Reference:
Tu-A32 Natural Resource Governance 2-P-001
Presenter/s:
Emmanuel Ababio Ofosu-Mensah
Presentation type:
Panel
Room:
Arts – Lecture Room 3
Chair/s:
Emmanuel Osuteye
Date:
Tuesday, 11 September
Time:
16:00 - 16:15
Session times:
16:00 - 17:30