The Inter-Ministerial Task Force constituted by the President to check the activities of small-scale miners in the country has completed the first phase of its work and is currently assessing the results of its activities.
So far, the task force has arrested 1,568 foreigners, 51 Ghanaians and seized 40 vehicles, 85 earth moving equipment and 49 weapons.
Taking his turn at the meet the press series in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, said a total of 3,877 foreigners, including those who voluntary submitted themselves for repatriation, have been deported.
He said the seized equipment were currently at holding centres under the care of regional security councils, and the full details of the first part of the operational phase of the task force would be made available to the general public at the appropriate time.
He stated that the resolve of the government to sanitise the small-scale mining sector was unwavering and indicated that the task force was poised to pursue all people who would violate the country�s mining laws to ensure a clean mining environment, the protection of water bodies against illegal miners and the enforcement of laws and regulations governing mining and the environment.
To complement the efforts by the National Security, the minister said, the ministry had established regional task forces to deal with the illegal mining situation.
So far, five of the regional task forces are working, while efforts are being made to set up similar task forces in the remaining regions.
According to him, minerals were important for the world economy, and when managed, regulated and taxed properly, mining offered the opportunity to facilitate broad based economic development, reduce poverty and assist countries in meeting the MDGs.
�In 2012, the mining sector contributed 27 per cent of government revenues as collected by the Domestic Tax Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and in terms of total merchandise exports, the sector contributed 42 per cent�, he said.
Alhaji Fuseini indicated that since 1991, the mining sector had been the single largest contributor to total merchandise export, with gold accounting for 95 per cent to the mineral portfolio.
In 2012, Ghana produced 4,313,190 ounces of gold- the highest ever in the history of the country which resulted in export revenue of more than $5.6 billion.
He mentioned the formation of district mining committees within some of the mining areas to assist in the management of small-scale mining in the country.
Livelihood projects in mining Communities
To mitigate the socio-economic impacts of mining on host communities, the ministry implemented the Alternative Livelihood Programmes (ALP) in mining communities through the creations of non-mining jobs.
For instance, 23,000 acres of land have been planted with oil palm seedlings in the Prestea Huni Valley District, a project which has provided employment for 23,000 people.
Forestry Sub Sector
On the forestry sub-sector, the minister said that the Forestry Commission (FC) had established Rapid Response Unit within the FC to clamp down on illegal activities within the forest reserves and protected areas of the country.
He stated that reversing forest degradation was a priority in the sector, and that the ministry had devised strategies to restore the degraded forest cover, reduce wood deficit situation, create employment in fringe communities and increase food crop production.
Lands Sub-Sector
According to the minister, to provide quality, reliable and efficient land services delivery, the ministry had undertaken a number of activities, including the strengthening of the legislative framework for land administration.
He said the country was currently experiencing an accelerated economic growth, and in view of that, the various policies and interventions within the lands sub-sector were crucial for the speedy development of other sectors such as petrochemical, housing roads, agriculture and forestry.
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