The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, has expressed his commitment to transforming small-scale miners in Ghana into “millionaires.”
He outlined that his government’s policies would enhance their quality of life and increase their financial standing.
Dr. Bawumia made this pledge during a speech to small-scale miners and youth groups in Tarkwa on the final day of his campaign tour of the Western Region.
He further elaborated that certain mining concessions in Ghana would be reserved for small-scale miners under his administration.
“We will allocate the mining concessions to the small-scale miners. My primary focus is to make many small-scale miners millionaires and multi-millionaires. I want to support our small-scale miners,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia also promised to shift the government’s approach towards small-scale miners by supporting them with the necessary tools to mine legally, instead of pursuing them and seizing their equipment.
“We will formalise the small-scale mining regime and give them a license. Everybody will register with the Small Scale Miners Association with their Ghana card and we will deepen the representation of the Minerals Commission and the EPA, and make sure that the districts that they don’t have representatives, we will give them some,” he added.
Dr. Bawumia announced plans to establish a mining committee in each district, in collaboration with local chiefs, to issue temporary licenses for mining activities.