The President of the National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, has expressed gratitude to the President over the reassignment of Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi.
According to Michael Kwadwo Peprah, although this is a step in the right direction, the CEO of the Commission should have been sacked and not just reassigned.
Speaking to Tv3 News on Wednesday, August 27, Mr. Peprah said, “It is a refreshing news, and as a matter of fact we thank His Excellency, the President of this Republic.”
Adding that, “We’ve been talking about Galamsey problem and how best we can easily resolve or streamline these activities. But the past 8 years we can attest to the fact that no new ideas were brought forth to make sure that we can salvage this problem that we face as a country.”
He however expressed surprise that Martin Ayisi was not sacked, arguing that he has been unable to introduce any new strategies in the fight against illegal mining or Galamsey.
“We were surprised he’s being reassigned, in the sense that he is not a public worker and as a matter of fact he was appointed and we don’t see any new ideas that he can bring forth in trying to solve this problem but we will leave it for another day,” he said.
Michael Kwadwo Peprah explained that, “He should be sacked because for the past 8 years, we are still talking about galamsey. Now the problem compounded when he became the CEO of Minerals Commission, he couldn’t bring about new strategies to try and resolve this problem. The bureaucracy involved in even acquiring the license under his watch, he couldn’t do anything better to salvage the issue.”
Mr. Peprah further listed some initiatives championed by Martin Ayisi which were not successful, such as the community mining scheme and the Gold for Oil police. He also recalled Martin Ayisi’s support for the controversial lithium agreement which was opposed by many.
Michael Peprah says the Small Scale Miners Assciation is expecting the next CEO of the Minerals Commission to have more expertise in the field. “We were calling on His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to bring people with better expertise, with new ideas so that at least this galamsey thing can be reduced to its minimal destruction,” he urged.
“Everything that happens in this field, we are the first people who have information. They will cordially work with the association so that we can as well help in solving this issue,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi has been reassigned to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, which comes after months of mounting pressure on the Government to remove him from office.
In April this year, his ministry under his leadership was accused by the National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association of failing to provide effective solutions in the fight against illegal mining.
