NDC pledges a $500m allocation in fight against ‘galamsey’
Special Aide to NDC flagbearer John Mahama, Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, emphasized in an interview with Evans Mensah on PM Express that should their party secure victory in the upcoming election, they plan to allocate a substantial $500 million towards tackling the persistent issue of illegal mining, commonly referred to as ‘galamsey’.
She stressed the critical nature of this problem and underscored their commitment to deploying further governmental funds to effectively combat it.
The former Deputy Transport Minister said, “John Mahama actually said in his speech at the University of Mines and Energy, for example, that at least $500 million will be deployed first into research to get data and of course using modern technology.”
“Everybody’s interested in this conversation…there is something that modern technology does for us. It makes things much easier and presents a better photograph and actually satisfies something that humans cannot do,” she explained on Monday.
Mahama to Deploy AI to Fight Galamsey
During the ‘3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining’ hosted by the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, former President John Mahama outlined new strategies to tackle illegal small-scale mining.
He proposed integrating cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to monitor and regulate this sector, aiming to mitigate its adverse effects on the environment and address widespread concerns among Ghanaians.
The initiative reflects a proactive approach to managing the challenges posed by illegal mining, particularly in relation to water treatment costs as highlighted by the Ghana Water Company.
“We will introduce and encourage technological innovation to improve capacity for coordinated monitoring of the small-scale mining sector and reduce environmental impact,” he said.
He proposed the utilisation of AI to identify small-scale mining and galamsey activities, monitor excavators, and establish geo-fences around concessions to prevent mining operations in unauthorized areas, including water bodies.
“This will include using AI to locate all small-scale mining and galamsey operations, track excavators, and geo-fence all concessions to ensure mining operations are not conducted in unapproved areas, including water bodies.”
This initiative aims to strengthen coordinated efforts in monitoring and regulating mining activities, thereby promoting sustainable mining practices and environmental conservation.
Technology Does It Better
Adding her voice, Joyce Bawa-Mogtari said despite the government’s failure to use drones to fight the menace, AI can be more effective.
“You can sit in your room even and be able to tell that the military that you’ve sent, instead of the ones that we saw in videos wearing mufti and going out there to engage in these activities themselves, are working.”
“These are technologies that will be used to actually expose some of these acts.”
According to her, due to the importance of the subject matter, a lot of support could be obtained for free from various stakeholders in the mining industry.
“Remember that climate control and climate change are big conversations. There are government-to-government and state-to-state conversations that are taking place. There’s a lot of resources…there will be conversations that will lead us to this process, but note also, that it is a matter of public interest.
“Larger mining companies invest a lot in their mines. The activities of these illegal responsible miners affect their activities too. It is also their responsibility in terms of corporate image to invest in this and they are doing a great job already.”
Madam Bawa-Mogtari said CSOs are already having conversations about how to support the fight, so the next NDC government will count on them to “help with education and training.”
tigpost.co
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