News
Ban all Small-Scale Mining for one year – Movement for Change tells Govt
The Movement for Change has urged government to impose an immediate one-year ban on all small-scale and artisanal mining activities in the country.
The Director of Communications for the political party, Mr. Solomon Owusu, said the group, “By an Executive Instrument, all small-scale and artisanal mining activities, whether legal or illegal, should be banned immediately for one year.”
The call follows the death of eight gallant men who lost their lives on August 6, 2025, in a Galamsey-related duty.
The Movement explained that the temporary ban would create room for reforms, including a full audit of mining licences issued in the last 15 years. It added that new licences should only be issued with the consent of traditional authorities after the audit.
The group further proposed that all mining machinery be seized and preserved by the Ghana Armed Forces, while degraded lands and polluted rivers are restored under state-supervised programmes.
It recommended that Parliament pass new laws to permanently ban mining in river bodies and forest reserves, with offenders facing life imprisonment.
In addition, the Movement called for the establishment of a Youth in Responsible Mining Initiative to help young people who previously engaged in Galamsey to set up legal mining companies.
These companies, it said, should be supported with licences, equipment and off-taker agreements to operate responsibly.
The party suggested the creation of Citizens Mining Protection Rights Groups in mining communities to act as watchdogs for responsible mining.
According to the Movement, these measures form part of its Ten-Point Action Plan to end illegal mining, which is outlined in its Great Transformational Plan.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Ghana Police Service has revealed that they have sighted a viral video in which a group of people are seen pelting stones at a student.
According to them in a statement today, Monday, February 23, 2026, investigations into the incident are ongoing, and further developments will be communicated in due course.
“The Service strongly condemns the violence and assures the public that all perpetrators will be identified and brought to justice,” the statement concluded.
Former Tamale Central MP, Inusah Fuseini, has rejected claims that cocoa farmers are worse off under the current administration, insisting that producers are receiving greater value compared to the previous government.
Speaking on Metro TV, he accused the New Patriotic Party of pushing what he described as misleading propaganda about cocoa prices.
He explained that when the NPP was paying 3,100 cedis per bag of cocoa, the exchange rate stood at about 17 cedis to one US dollar.
Based on that rate, he argued that farmers were effectively earning around 182 dollars per bag.
According to him, this amount was lower than what farmers receive today when converted into dollar terms.
Fuseini stated that upon assuming office, the National Democratic Congress pegged the cedi at a stronger rate against the dollar and adjusted cocoa prices accordingly.
He noted that when the producer price was set at 2,650 cedis, the equivalent value was about 252 dollars per bag, which he maintained was significantly higher than the earlier figure.
