The Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) has begun a series of community engagements aimed at sensitising Chiefs and Residents on the benefits of cooperative mining.
Starting from the Western Region, the team visited Akropong, Bomoapelley, Anwia, Nkroful, and Esiama in the Ellembelle District.
The initiative is part of Government’s effort to curb illegal mining and ensure that communities benefit directly from mineral resources in their localities.
Coordinator of rCOMSDEP, Engineer Frank Pedro Asare, explained that cooperative mining is structured to ensure ownership and equitable benefit-sharing.
“Cooperative mining is to ensure that the communities own the mines and benefit from the mining. The revenue from the cooperative mining scheme will be shared to ensure long-term benefits for the Communities, with portions set aside for a development fund, land reclamation fund, and skills development and entrepreneurship fund “, he said.
He further highlighted the reasons behind illegal mining, noting that “the causes include mining without a mining lease and bad mining practices.”
He emphasised that the cooperative mining framework excludes mining in forest reserves and river bodies.
Touching on the importance of community buy-in, Engineer Asare noted that rCOMSDEP is prioritising dialogue to avoid past mistakes.
“One of the problems that the community mining had was the lack of consultation. You go to a point where they will put up a signboard somewhere that they are going to do community mining, and the people will demonstrate. We want to avoid such situations. So we need to get the buy-in of the community,” he stressed.
The Chiefs in all the communities visited welcomed the cooperative mining concept and appealed to the Government to expedite its implementation. They also expressed optimism that the initiative would create jobs for the youth and reduce their involvement in illegal mining.