Accra: Ace Ankomah, a legal practitioner, has proposed a constitutional amendment to establish an independent Natural Resources Commission, free from political control, to regulate the sector effectively, particularly in tackling illegal mining. He said that while government may issue general policy guidelines, operational authority over the utilisation of natural resources should lie with an independent body to ensure efficiency. Mr Ankomah made the call at a public lecture on 'Galamsey Revisited', organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra.
According to Ghana News Agency, the event focused on the topic: 'Overhaul of National Institutions Regulating Mining: Role of Local Institutions Including Chiefs.' Ankomah also proposed a constitutional amendment to establish an Independent National Prosecution Authority to manage all criminal prosecutions without executive interference. The Authority, he emphasised, would handle all criminal matters, including illegal mining, free from political influence.
Mr. Ankomah stated that the failure to curb illegal mining was not due to the absence of legal instruments, but rather the lack of strong, independent, and accountable institutions. He argued that the Attorney-General, as a cabinet member, was politically compromised and could not credibly prosecute individuals at the highest levels of government.
He urged citizens to consider reforms that would vest the power to manage natural resources and prosecute crimes in independent constitutional bodies, rather than under direct government control. 'Ghana must rise to this challenge, not with more rhetoric but with real structural reform,' he said.
Professor Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, Consultant in Anaesthesiology at the University of Ghana Medical School, also called for the reintegration of traditional authorities into mining governance to build local legitimacy. He advocated a co-regulatory model that formalised the roles of chiefs in licensing, monitoring, land allocation, and dispute resolution. Prof Adu-Gyamfi proposed the creation of a Chieftaincy Authority, comprising representatives from regional and paramount houses, to review mineral development agreements affecting customary lands.
