The Technical committee jointly established by the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology has presented its report to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP, by affirming its commitment to the implementation of the recommendations by the committee.  

On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Hon. Armah-Kofi Buah received the report on behalf of the two ministries and gave the strongest assurance that special attention will be paid to the report. 

Key among the recommendations by the committee are the revocation of all mining licenses granted after the 2024 elections, a complete overhaul of the Community Mining Scheme and decentralization of the issuance of mining licenses.

The committee also proposed the repeal of  LI 2462 which gives the President, the right to sanction mining in forest reserves.  

The Lands Minister who received the report, commended the experts on the committee for their incredible service to the nation and noted that their report will serve as the blueprint for government’s actions against illegal mining.  

He explained that the report has armed the ministry and by extension the government with all the information necessary for punitive and radical decisions in the small-scale mining sector, particularly dealing with the galamsey menace.  

”We had set up a Working Committee to review the current licensing regime and propose recommendations and a comprehensive strategy to tackle the issue of illegal mining. The committee has presented their findings and we are here to provide an update to the Ghanaian people. Revoking all licenses issued since December 7th, 2024,” he said. 

”Existing Community Mining Schemes are in name only, although the basis for which they were founded was to benefit the community. However, the findings indicate that this is not the case hence, they are to be disbanded and replaced with Small-Scale Cooperatives that actually serve and benefit the communities. These cooperatives will be formed after due diligence with the communities involved so they properly represent the communities,” he said.  

The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammad reiterated his viewpoint that the galamsey fight is moral battle for the protection of Ghanaian lives.  

He stated that comprehensive reports like the one produced by the committee are essential in ensuring that government’s measures against the menace are streamlined to achieve effective and sustainable results.  

He assured the relevant ministries and stakeholders will work together to ensure that they conquer the evil of illegal mining.  

Hon. Murtala Muhammad who described the galamsey menace as act of terrorism warned even members of the NDC who are caught to be behind the menace will not be spared from the punitive actions that government will take against galamsey.