Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer aspirant, Kojo Poku, has endorsed the community-based approach being used by the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Atiwa East, Ernest Owusu Ntim, to combat illegal mining and promote responsible mining practices.
Mr. Poku made the remarks while reacting to a news documentary on GHone TV highlighting the approach by the Atiwa East District Assembly’s positive early results in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
According to him, the fight against illegal mining will only be effective if it is localized and district-driven, as opposed to centrally imposed interventions that often fail to yield lasting results.
“When I watched the documentary you guys are showing on Atiwa East, it is a localised fight, it’s a district-based fight, it’s a community-based fight”
Mr. Kojo Poku who is now Campaign Aide to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia called for the replication of the Atiwa East Community Based model across other districts and municipalities, arguing that previous interventions have largely failed due to weak local ownership.
“We should duplicate that in other districts and municipalities because nine months will go and nine months will leave,” he stated.
He criticised the effectiveness of river guards and security-led operations, describing them as insufficient in the face of heavily armed illegal miners.
“Water guards… these water guards don’t have the strength. Even the military with the guns are being fought. Those river guards you introduced with the T-shirts cannot do anything,” Mr. Poku said.
He maintained that the challenges of illegal mining are well known and reiterated the need for decentralised leadership in addressing the menace.
“The issues are known. Let it be a community-based fight. Let the DCEs own it and have responsibility,” he stressed.
The Atiwa East District Assembly for about three months now rolled out a Community-Based Approach Model aimed at curbing irresponsible mining practices, protecting river bodies, and ensuring strict land reclamation across the district.
Under the model, community leaders are engaged to enter into Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with licensed small-scale miners to commit the miners to protect local rivers, undertake immediate reclamation of degraded lands, and enhance corporate social responsibility within their host communities.
The Assembly has established a task force to ensure compliance and clamp down on illegal mining activities
For close to two decades, Atewa East District, with Anyinam as its capital, has been one of the areas most devastated by illegal mining in Ghana.
Travelling on the Accra–Kumasi highway, the evidence is impossible to ignore. What was once fertile land now lies broken, silent testimony to years of uncontrolled galamsey.
The Birim River, a lifeline for many communities, is heavily polluted. Its waters, once clean, now carry the cost of years of illegal mining.
Illegal miners here have been daring. One of them, known as Abeiku, openly threatened to fight back anyone who attempts to stop illegal mining in the district.
“I will disturb you (DCE) until they sack you ” Abeiku, a notorious but untouchable illegal miner bragged.
President John Dramani Mahama after ressuming office on January 7 ,2025 appointed Ernest Owusu Ntim as District Chief Executive for Atewa East, to among other things fight illegal mining.
But despite fierce resistance and persistent pushback, the DCE chose a different path; instituted the community-driven strategy to reclaim the land and protect the rivers.
“Our strategy here is Community Based Approach Model. We involve the community leaders to sign agreement with license miners to monitor their activities so they don’t destroy their own water bodies. You can see, we have just moved on almost about 200 acres of land that have been reclaimed. And then you also realise that our water body is still intact. You can see they have mine around all the river Tamfoe, but still it’s still intact. So the best is that we have to let the community people know that this is your land, help the government to solve the problem”.
He added “So over here, the Tamfoe people get to know that this is our land. So here, reclamation has been done without the supervision of a soldier, without the supervision of the police, but we’ve got to know that this is our land”.
A task force formed by the District Assembly now patrols mining hotspots. Embedded with gas welders, they dismantle illegal changfang machines, cutting them into scrap to ensure they never return to the river.
Beyond enforcement, a community-based protection system has been introduced. Local residents now work hand-in-hand with the Assembly to defend river bodies and the environment.
“These pillars have been erected at the bank of the river. This is part of the measures I put in place in order to prevent the miners get close to the river. At least, you can mine close to it a bit, but to touch the river is something that I was not ready to allow at all. So that’s why I got information. Now, I told you that I already have some informants, some people that I’ve paid them that they move around. That’s a community-based approach. That’s the best way you could go about it. So I was informed that some people want to come here and divert the river so quickly. I think it was Saturday, I came with some of my assembly staff and some of the Tamfoe, then we put all these pillars there.Today, thousands of acres of degraded land in Etiwa East have been successfully reclaimed, slowly restoring hope to communities once surrounded by destruction” The DCE explained .
Before any small-scale miner begins work, agreements must be signed with the Assembly, binding miners to protect river bodies and reclaim mined lands immediately.
Mining companies are also required to construct tailing dams, ensuring that washing is done outside active mining areas to reduce pollution.
Chief of Asamang Tamfoe, Osabarima Kwame Koh lauded the Community Based model stating that it has made the communities part of decision making and imposed collective responsibilities and control systems to the environment.
Today, thousands of acres of degraded land in Atewa East have been successfully reclaimed, slowly restoring hope to communities once surrounded by destruction.
The District Chief Executive is also ensuring mining companies honour their corporate social responsibilities, delivering tangible benefits to the communities where they operate.
“The percentage now is just 16% of the macro. And people have mined there for about three years before NDC came to power, and there was nothing to show that this is what I’ve done for them. Some communities have made about Ghc3 million cedis for developmental projects”.
Teacher Asare, Amankrodo of Nanapa Community said through the innovative policy by the DCE, the community has received Ghc300,000 into its account as corporate social responsibility contribution by licensed mining companies working in the area.
For many small-scale miners and residents, the interventions are beginning to change the narrative; promoting responsible mining, protecting water bodies, improving livelihoods and safe working relationship with the communities.
Dr. John Boakye Dankwa of the Canada-based Globe and System Consulting firm is hopeful the community based approach strategy is a good model that can bec scaled up across the country.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
