SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE GHANA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL SCALE MINERS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE MIKLIN HOTEL, KUMASI, ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2025.

Good morning, Distinguished media professionals, Members of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for honoring this call at the shortest notice. Your swift response to our call is a clear indication of a good relationship we have built together over the years. We appreciate you a lot.

We are here to bring to your attention a grave injustice: the systematic harassment, intimidation, and alleged extortion of small-scale miners by some elements within the Law Enforcement Agencies (especially the Police) and politically exposed persons who run their own parallel taskforces for their self-gain. This issue transcends mining: it’s a human rights and corruption concern. Across various mining communities in Ashanti, Western North, Upper East, Eastern, Western, and Savannah Regions, countless hardworking small-scale miners are being targeted and terrorized by those meant to protect them. Politically exposed persons manipulate security agencies for profit and power, undermining formal small-scale mining initiatives.

Some police officers and other security agencies, sometimes acting under the influence or protection of powerful political figures, storm mining sites with impunity. They confiscate equipment, demand illegal payments, and, in some cases, violently eject miners from land they have legally licensed to mine. Some police checkpoints target miners in possession of gold and accuse them of illegal possession despite engaging in legitimate mining operations. Behind many of these operations are politically exposed persons—individuals who, using their influence and connections, have turned public authority into private enterprise. These politically exposed persons manipulate security agencies, exploit regulatory loopholes, and back illegal miners to take over licensed concessions not for the sake of the environment or law, but for profit and power. These activities undermine formal small-scale mining initiatives by the Government and the Reset Agenda. This must end, and we demand that it ends now.

We, the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, have at all times engaged in responsible and ethical mining practices. Never in our history have we defended illegality. We do not condone irresponsible mining that causes havoc to our environment. That is why over the years, we have supported and collaborated with Government to enforce restrictions at the RED ZONES (Forest Reserves, water bodies, and buffer zones), a responsible act we will continue to uphold. However, what we will not do is be silent while our members are criminalized for working hard to earn a living. We suggest the following:

1. The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operation Secretariat (NAIMOS), launched by the sector Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, should be adequately resourced to handle illegal mining issues in a more coordinated approach to realize the impact of their mandate.
2. We demand stronger protection for licensed small-scale miners, including clear protocols for police operations on mining sites. These efforts will, in the long run, promote responsible mining.
3. An alternative approach is very important—force cannot be used all the time. In some instances, we should engage the illegal miners and work with them to correct the mess they have created and to also formalize them where practicable. GNASSM is prepared to lead in realizing this approach if given the opportunity. We have all the tools and resources to ensure this objective is achieved when given the mandate to do so.
4. Build the capacity of the security agencies to understand the small-scale mining operations and licensing regime of the sector.
5. Regulatory agencies like the Minerals Commission should be part of the operations of the taskforce to reduce the rate at which licensed small-scale miners are being abused and driven out of their legitimately acquired concessions.
6. We demand the immediate release of all excavators and other machinery seized from licensed small-scale mining sites.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press,

The small-scale mining sector has huge socio-economic prospects if properly managed. The employment opportunities, the supply of raw gold for value additions, the upstream, midstream, and downstream linkages benefits, and its integration into our local economy cannot be overemphasized.

With the establishment of the GOLDBOD as part of the Reset Agenda of the government and the sanitization of gold trading activities, we have contributed immensely in forex earnings (over 2.7 billion US dollars from January–April 2025). This is the evidence that with the right leadership, we can bring change. Change is also needed in the fight against illegal mining. We need a well-coordinated approach, we must resource the NAIMOS, and we must fight against corruption and intimidation of small-scale miners.

Full speech Red by National communication Director of GNASSM Mr Abdul Razak Alhassan