Vice President for IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, claims that the “mad rush to issue mining licenses” in Ghana began after 2022, with the government significantly accelerating the licensing process.
He claims in a post on X platform, that between 1988 and November 2022, only 150 mining licenses were issued, but in just over a year since then, more than 1,400 licenses have reportedly been granted.
“Is this just increased efficiency? Better tech? Or what?” Simons questioned. According to Simons, a detailed analysis suggests that this massive surge in license issuance stems from heightened political pressure on the Minerals Commission. For instance, he said, in 2019, the Mines Ministry allegedly approved over 100 small-scale mining (SSM) licenses and nearly 20 mining leases. However, the Minerals Commission is said to have confirmed only one mining lease and 14 blocks for SSM.
He argues that “the mad rush to issue licenses clearly started after 2022 when it became easier to mine in forests.”
Mr Simons raised concerns about potential political interference in technical decision-making and questions whether the ministerial change in February 2021 might have triggered this surge.
The implications of this rapid licensing are significant, as Simons asserts that the number of inspectors at the Minerals Commission and the Mining Department of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not increased adequately to match the expansion in mining operations.
“Clearly, there has been little thought paid to inspections,” he emphasizes.
In 2023, he noted, there were reportedly only 38 qualified Minerals Commission inspectors available for the entire country after the government dismissed nine district mine inspectors in 2017.
This situation, according to Mr Simons, has led to a significant decrease in mining inspections in key hotspots. For example, in 2016, there were 138 inspections in Bibiani, but by 2019, that number allegedly dropped to just 46. Overall, only 383 inspections of surface mining operations were recorded across the nation that year—an average of barely one inspection per day.
Mr Simons points out that training a qualified mining inspector takes years, and each inspector has a limited capacity for conducting effective inspections over time. Additionally, reviewing new applications requires substantial time and personnel resources.
He stated that a decade ago, there were around 220 personnel at the Minerals Commission, and today, that number remains below 300. Given this context, he questioned, “How is the agency managing an increase in workload of more than 10 times? Is this reasonable?”