The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor has clarified that his Ministry did not blow GHc10 Million on 10 conferences as speculated by the Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini.
According to him, the allegation is false and has no factual basis.
In a statement issued by the Public Relations Unit, it said "The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to a story in a section of the media, where the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Hon. Alhassan Suhuyini, alleges that the Ministry spent Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GHS10,000,000) on ten (10) conferences and dialogues in the fight against galamsey. The Ministry wants to state, categorically, that the said allegation is false and has no factual basis"
It will be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation Address, last year, called for a national dialogue on illegal mining, which was threatening the country’s water bodies and environment, and directed that the necessary measures be taken to fight the canker.
Pursuant to this directive, the Ministry organised a two-day national consultative dialogue on small scale mining at the Accra International Conference Centre, on 14th and 15th April, 2021, which brought together stakeholders from across the country, to agree on a common non-partisan approach to fight this menace.
The statement further said "As a way of prudently managing the public purse, the Ministry adopted a strategy to bring together the regions and hold the dialogues on a zonal basis. Accordingly, two regional dialogues were held in Kumasi for the forest zone and Tamale for the savannah zone. In addition to the Dialogues, the Ministry undertook a working visit to all the sixteen (16) regions of our country, where we engaged various stakeholders to solicit their support to fight illegal mining"
It is emerging that among the stakeholders engaged included; The Council of State, National House of Chiefs, the Regional Houses of Chiefs of all sixteen (16) regions, Regional Ministers of all sixteen (16) regions, The Regional Security Councils of all sixteen regions (16) regions, The Ghana Chamber of Mines, The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), Civil Society Organisations in the mining sector; and Miners in the field.
The statement also explained that all the meetings were fully funded by the Ministry.
"The Ministry also provided some funding to the Regional Security Councils, to assist in the fight against galamsey"
Below is a copy of the release:
RE: GOVERNMENT SPENT GHS10M ON 10 CONFERENCES AND DIALOGUES ON GALAMSEY FIGHT – HON. ALHASSAN SUHUYINI ALLEGES The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to a story in a section of the media, where the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Hon. Alhassan Suhuyini, alleges that the Ministry spent Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GHS10,000,000) on ten (10) conferences and dialogues in the fight against galamsey.
The Ministry wants to state, categorically, that the said allegation is false and has no factual basis.
It will be recalled that in his State of the Nation Address, last year, the President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, called for a national dialogue on illegal mining, which was threatening our water bodies and environment, and directed that the necessary measures be taken to fight this canker.
Pursuant to this directive, the Ministry organised a two-day national consultative dialogue on small scale mining at the Accra International Conference Centre, on 14th and 15th April, 2021, which brought together stakeholders from across the country, to agree on a common non-partisan approach to fight this menace.
The Dialogue resulted in a fifteen-point resolution, including the need to hold similar dialogues in all sixteen (16) regions of our country.
As a way of prudently managing the public purse, the Ministry adopted a strategy to bring together the regions and hold the dialogues on a zonal basis.
Accordingly, two regional dialogues were held in Kumasi for the forest zone and Tamale for the savannah zone.
In addition to the Dialogues, the Ministry undertook a working visit to all the sixteen (16) regions of our country, where we engaged various stakeholders to solicit their support to fight illegal mining.
Among the stakeholders engaged include: • The Council of State; • The National House of Chiefs; • The Regional Houses of Chiefs of all sixteen (16) regions; • Regional Ministers of all sixteen (16) regions; • The Regional Security Councils of all sixteen regions (16) regions; • The Ghana Chamber of Mines; • The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM); • Civil Society Organisations in the mining sector; and • Miners in the field;
All these meetings were fully funded by the Ministry.
The Ministry also provided some funding to the Regional Security Councils, to assist in the fight against galamsey.
To ensure that we are able to quickly act on reports of illegal mining, the Ministry set up a Monitoring and Evaluation Team, together with a Situation Room, to receive reports of illegal mining and act swiftly on them.
And to ensure that those affected by the clamp down on illegal mining are given alternative sources of livelihood, the Ministry launched a National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), as part of its strategies to deal with illegal mining.
The Ministry also, in partnership with the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), introduced a Small Scale Miners Award Scheme, to reward and encourage responsible and environmentally-sound small scale mining.
The cost of all these, and many other programmes and policies being implemented by the Ministry, including the revamping of the Community Mining Schemes, the establishment of Small Scale Mining Committees in the various mining districts of our country, the resourcing the Minerals Commission, and the introduction of the mercury-free gold katcha, form part of the Ministry’s expenditure on the fight against illegal scale mining.
At the appropriate time, the state agencies charged with auditing the accounts of the Ministry will do their work as mandated by law, and take the appropriate actions if any wrongdoing is detected.
END ISSUED BY: PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT MINISTRY OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith