Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister George Mireku Duker has said that the government will not rush to inaugurate the Community Mining Scheme, despite heightened calls by some communities for the initiative.
He insisted that the Ministry will ensure due diligence and broader consultation before launching the scheme in any community in the country. He believes this is the only way the initiative can be properly regulated and also achieve its objective.
Mr. Duker made this statement during the launch of the scheme at Atwimanso in the Amansie South Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister further said that the initiative will provide jobs for the inhabitants of mining communities if it is sustained.
“I would say that in my constituency, we are taking on board about 5,000 people in one community mining project that we have. We have earmarked 2,000, and we are talking about not less than 15 mining community schemes that we have put together. If each of them employs an average of 1,000 or 2,000 people, in direct benefits, that is something that is really encouraging. You can see the enthusiasm of the people gathered here. The chiefs are excited, and people are even yearning for more,” he said.
He added, “Through this, they can move from their illegalities and join the legal framework. We will sit with the stakeholders and find out the possible ways of getting the scheme launched. We will consult the stakeholders, chiefs, and all the people involved, and see how we can jaw-jaw and bring peace.”