Accra: Movement for Change, one of Ghana's political parties, has asked the government to ban all small-scale and artisanal mining activities for one year. A statement issued and signed by its Director of Communication and Spokesperson, Mr. Solomon Owusu, urged the government to "By an Executive Instrument, ban all small-scale and artisanal mining activities whether legal or illegal, with immediate effect, for a substantive period of one year."
According to Ghana News Agency, the Movement for Change also called on Parliament to suspend, under a Certificate of Urgency, the application of Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 to stop permits that allow mining in forest reserves in Ghana. The party's call comes following a ghastly incident on Wednesday, 13th August 2025, which claimed the lives of eight gallant men of the nation.
The statement emphasized an urgent need to put a complete stop to the existential threat of Galamsey. Against this background, the Movement for Change proposed a Ten-Point Action Plan to stop Galamsey. Part of the proposal includes the revocation of all small-scale and community mining licenses issued by the Minerals Commission within the last 15 years.
The statement further suggested a comprehensive audit of all small-scale and community mining licenses issued in the said period, overseen by a task force comprising representatives of the Goldbod, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Resources Commission, and Minerals Commission. It also recommended issuing new mining licenses after the audit, with the consent of traditional authorities in the relevant areas.
The Movement for Change appealed to the government to demobilize all machinery and equipment currently in use on all existing small-scale and community mining land sites. The equipment would be inventoried, stored, and preserved by the 48 Engineer's Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The statement tasked the government with establishing and funding a comprehensive program for the restoration and regeneration of all degraded land sites within the one-year ban on small-scale mining activities. Young men and women currently engaged in small-scale mining would be redeployed under this program, led and supervised by the Forestry Commission with technical oversight by the Forestry Research Institute of CSIR.
Additionally, the statement urged the government to establish a program to be jointly managed by the Water Resources Commission and Environmental Protection Agency, with technical support from the Water Research Institute of CSIR, for the complete restoration of all river bodies within the one-year ban period.
The statement proposed new legislation that would impose a complete ban on mining in river bodies and forest reserves, even after the small-scale mining ban is lifted. The sanctions regime associated with this legislation would include life imprisonment for violations.
Furthermore, the statement recommended establishing a Youth in Responsible Mining Initiative, supporting groups of young people previously engaged in Galamsey to form private mining companies. These youth-owned mining companies would receive mining licensing rights, permits, and machinery under a Work-and-Pay basis, with Off-taker Agreements from Goldbod.
Finally, the statement appealed for the establishment of a Citizens Mining Protection Rights Group in each mining community to act as watchdogs for responsible mining.
