Inclusive reform for Ghana's small-scale and artisanal mining sector

While accounting for an estimated 34 per cent of Ghana's gold production in 2014 and the livelihoods of approximately 1 million Ghanaians (and a total 3 million dependents), the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is best known for its major environmental and social challenges.

However, a group of national business and community leaders believe that the ASM sector can be improved to become an inclusive, responsible, rights-based engine for growth in Ghana.  

"What we need is a major shift. A shift from an ASM sector driven by poverty and a lack of options, to ASM operations that are run like efficient businesses with adequate access to finance," says Dr Toni Aubynn, chief executive officer of the Minerals Commission.

"We need to shift from an insecure and dangerous sector to one that enjoys secure rights and provides safe and decent jobs to mineworkers and the local community. We believe that this is possible. But we will need to shift policy and attitudes, as well as a great deal of collaboration and goodwill."

This participatory sector reform process started last January in Tarkwa, where a group of leaders decided to guide a process of transformation in the ASM sector, following an "action dialogue" that brought together 60 representatives from across Ghana. 

The event was convened by the NGO Friends of the Nation, with support from the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development's ASM dialogues programme. Ghana was the first country chosen for an ASM dialogue because of the growing economic and livelihoods' importance of the sector, and the commitment of ASM leaders and institutions to improving it.

"Civil society organisations like ASMAN ultimately aim at supporting the development of an environmentally sustainable, socially acceptable small-scale mining sector that can be a tool for poverty reduction in resource rich rural communities," says Nii Adjetey Kofi-Mensah who heads the ASM Africa Network (ASMAN).

The group of leaders, known as the Learning and Leadership Group, has developed an agenda for action that includes demonstrating the 'business case' for responsible ASM, improving practices within the sector, and building support across Ghanaian institutions for ASM as a force for positive growth and equity in the country. 

"We must not forget the difficult circumstances that women and children face in ASM. There are many vulnerable communities that need to be empowered," adds Tahiru.