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I’ll empower small-scale miners to do responsible mining; grow their operations – Bawumia
The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has laid out a detailed vision for the mining sector, which he says will help effectively regulate the industry, help small-scale miners and also protect the environment
Speaking to the nation in Accra on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, to unveil his vision and priorities for Ghana, Dr. Bawumia said about one million Ghanaians are engaged in small-scale mining and there is a need to help transform these small-scale miners to practice responsible mining, create more wealth, and also save the environment.
“About one million people are engaged in small-scale mining. Our goal would be to help grow small-scale mining companies into large-scale companies with capacity building and assisting them to access financing to acquire equipment. We can create many millionaires in the small-scale mining industry if we support them,” Dr Bawumia said.
“My government will support the Minerals Commission and key stakeholders to formalize the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector to ensure that the activities of the entire value chain are sustainably and responsibly done so that most of the gold produced by this sector can be sold to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and be eligible to be part of the gold reserves of the central bank.”
Dr. Bawumia added that in line with this, his government “will license all miners doing responsible mining. District Mining Committees, including chiefs, will provide initial temporary licenses to miners.”
“As long as miners mine within the limits of their licenses, e.g. no mining in river or water bodies, there will no longer be any seizure or burning of excavators.”
“I will fully decentralize the Minerals Commission as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ensure that they are present in all mining districts.”
Dr. Bawumia added that, under his government, every Ghanaian in Small Scale Mining will register under Ghana Small Scale Miners Association with their Ghanacard.
“We will, in collaboration with the large mining companies, convert abandoned shafts into community mining schemes and open more new community mining schemes.”
Other initiatives Dr Bawumia announced for the mining sector are:
*Pension scheme for small-scale miners as we have for cocoa farmers.
- Introduce vocational and skills training on sustainable mining for small-scale miners in the curriculum of TVET institutions.
- Provide equipment to government authorities in mining communities to undertake reclamation of land
•Set up state-of-the-art common-user gold processing units in mining districts in collaboration with the private sector.
•Conduct an audit of all concessions with various licenses and new applications which will allow the government to know licenses that have expired and non-compliance with licensing conditions.
- To encourage exploration, the Bawumia government will abolish the VAT on exploration services (like assaying) to encourage more exploration.
- We will establish, in collaboration with the private sector, a Minerals Development Bank to support the mining industry.
- We will establish (through the private sector) a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certified gold refinery in Ghana within four years.
- All responsibly mined small-scale gold produced will be sold to the central bank, PMMC or MIIF and will be required to be refined before export.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
