The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi, has stated that the Commission does not grant licenses for individuals or companies to mine on water bodies.

According to him, anyone engaging in illegal mining, or galamsey on water bodies is doing so without a license, and the Commission strongly opposes such activities.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, September 14, Mr Ayisi clarified that there are licensed small-scale miners who have been operating lawfully for a long time.

He noted that while the number of small-scale mining operations has increased due to license registrations, those without licenses often resort to illegal mining in water bodies and forest reserves.

"The complaint from small-scale miners is that they don't have licenses, and they want licenses to work lawfully. There are thousands of Ghanaians out there who want licenses to work and live in peace. The numbers in our repository are not synonymous with illegal mining," he explained.

Mr Ayisi pointed out that the pollution of water bodies is primarily caused by individuals who mine illegally without licenses, using platforms and various devices to extract minerals directly from rivers.

“These are people who do not have licenses. The Minister or the Minerals Commission will not recommend the grant of a license to somebody to enter the water bodies, mount a platform and do that kind of activity. That is illegal,” he said.

“The other one has to do with persons who are perhaps within the banks or upstream - because they don’t have modern equipment, they also dig the ore and wash into the water bodies.”