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Lands Minister Commissions Network Control Infrastructure at Mincom
Lands Minister Commissions Network Control Infrastructure at Mincom
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor (MP) on Thursday, December 8, 2022 commissioned the Network Control Centre for the tracking and monitoring of Earth Moving Equipment and Explosive Trucks situated at the Minerals Commission as part of a working visit to the Commission,
Among the dignitaries present were, the Hon. Deputy Minister, Benito Owusu-Bio in charge of Lands and Forestry, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Board Chairperson, Board members, Prof. Richard Kwasi Amankwah, Vice Chancellor of George Grant University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) and Mr. Godwin Armah, General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners.
In his introductory remarks, the CEO of the Minerals Commission, Mr. Martin K. Ayisi welcomed the Lands Minister Hon. Jinapor and the dignitaries and informed the gathering that the contract for the Network Control Centre was competitively awarded to UMaT, which designed and deployed the software for the Network Control Centre in line with the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431).
In his address, the Lands Minister Hon. Jinapor applauded the exemplary work done so far by the Commission despite the challenges posed by the activities of illegal miners and pollution of some of the water bodies in the country. He stressed that the overarching objective of the Government in the mining sector is to deal with the menace of illegal mining. According to the Hon. Minister, the inauguration of the Network Control facility for the tracking and monitoring of all earth moving and mining equipment is in line with the Minerals and Mining (Mineral Operations – Tracking of Earth Moving and Mining Equipment) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2404).
He said the Ministry has adopted a dual approach of law enforcement and reformation to tackle the issue of illegal activities in the mining sector. He was excited to commission the Network Control infrastructure and said this is part of a gamut of measures put in place to sanitise the mining industry. Hon. Jinapor expressed confidence in the leadership of the Commission’s Board and Management in the fight against galamsey and the regulation of the sector. He tasked the Commission to ensure a nationwide registration of all excavators, earth moving equipment and mining explosive trucks so that the monitoring will be effective.
On her part, the Board Chairperson, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi commended the Minister for his unflinching support to the Commission and enumerated various initiatives being implemented by the Minerals Commission as regulators of the mining industry. She was hopeful that the inauguration of the Network Control Room for tracking and monitoring of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks will go a long way to enhance the regulatory function of the Commission.
The Lead Consultant for the Network Control Centre, Dr. Sylvester Akpah, a Lecturer at the Computer Science and Engineering Department of UMaT, explained that the piloting of the tracking of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks had been successfully implemented and demonstrated the mechanism for monitoring the operations of the equipment and trucks fitted with unique tracking devices. He mentioned that going forward, all the earth moving equipment and explosive trucks will be fitted with tracking devices, mapped to a particular mining concession and geofenced so that once the equipment leaves a demarcated area it will be automatically shut down and only reactivated by the Control Centre. It is the expectation of the Minerals Commission that when this project is fully implemented it will improve the monitoring and tracking of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks and assist in the efforts of Government in dealing with the adverse environmental impact of illegal small scale mining activities in Ghana.
PRESS STATEMENT-ON-ALLEGED-ILLEGAL-MINING-IN-OFFIN-RIVER
PRESS STATEMENT ON ALLEGED ILLEGAL MINING IN THE OFFIN RIVER
The attention of the Minerals Commission has been drawn to a video on social media
about alleged illegal mining in the Offin River. The Commission wishes to assure the
general public that the matter is being investigated and swift and ruthless action will be
taken to deal with this and any other such illegal activities. Our resolve is resolute and
total.
Within the last two years, Government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources (MLNR) and the Commission, has introduced several measures to deal with
illegal mining, popularly referred to as “galamsey”. These measures include the
introduction of Operation Halt II, engagement with relevant stakeholders, revamping of
the Community Mining Scheme, geological investigation of designated areas to identify
mineralized areas to be allocated to small scale miners, the distribution of one hundred
(100) mercury-free equipment to ensure responsible mining and the inauguration of
District Mining Committees to monitor and supervise small scale operations. All
enforcement mechanisms as well as intelligence gathering have been enhanced on all
fronts.
Furthermore, to effectively deal with illegal mining in water bodies, the MLNR recently
commissioned five (5) speed boats which have been handed over to the Ghana Navy to
patrol Rivers Ankobra, Pra, Offin, Birim and the Black Volta. This is to ensure permanent
patrols on the water bodies as a way of preventing illegal miners from returning to mine
in our waterbodies.
The Commission wishes to reiterate its call to the media and the general public that the
fight against illegal mining should be a collective effort of all citizens. In this regard, the
Commission encourages all and sundry to support it by making available any
information on illegal mining activities such as the video in circulation, and such leads
will be acted upon with dispatch and integrity.
The Commission wishes to assure the Ghanaian public of its unflinching commitment to
the fight in sanitizing the small scale mining sector.
MARTIN KWAKU AYISI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MINERALS COMMISSION OF GHANA
ZAMBIA DELEGATION VISITS MINERALS COMMISSION
ZAMBIA DELEGATION VISITS MINERALS COMMISSION
A 4-member delegation led by the Mines and Minerals Development Minister, Mr. Paul C. Kabuswe has paid a day’s working visit to the Minerals Commission, Ghana to study their operations especially in the Small-Scale and Artisanal mining sector.
Welcoming the entourage, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi remarked that, there is a historical antecedent to the relationship between the two countries since Kwame Nkrumah and Kenneth Kaunda’s era, therefore it’s no strange for the Minister to choose Ghana and for that matter the Minerals Commission as their point of studying the management and utilization of minerals resources and more importantly the Small-Scale mining in Ghana.
Mr. Ayisi walked the Minister and his entourage through the mandate of Commission and how it regulates the industry in Ghana, the robustness of the system when it comes to mining laws and the compliance regime which some African Countries like Sierra Leone and Tanzania have adopted.
He further noted that, Ghana has highly skilled mining professionals who are among the most sought after in the global mining industry. “Our public Universities also provide dedicated courses in minerals and mining and the Minerals Commission complements this with competency-based continuous training and development programmes for our mining professionals” he emphasized.
A presentation on the management of Ghana’s Small-Scale Mining was delivered by the Director, Small-Scale & Industrial Minerals of Minerals Commission to the delegation.
The Zambian Minister of Mines on his part expressed satisfaction of the visit as it has afforded the delegation the opportunity to share ideas and learn more about Ghana’s mining sector and the regulatory regime especially.
He was hopeful these new experiences shared by the Commission will go a long way to help his Ministry to incorporate new ideas in developing their minerals resources development agenda. “Zambia has a lot of manganese and it’s one of the best in the world” says the Minister Kabuswe. According to Mr. Kabuswe, there is the need to restructure and formulate policies that will enable his countrymen to feel and own the minerals.
with Mr. Paul C. Kabuswe, Minister of Mines and Minerals
Development of Zambia
