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The Responsible Small-Scale Miners Association of Ghana has officially notified the Ghana Police Service of its plan to hold a protest on Friday, October 11, 2024. This demonstration is in response to Organised Labour’s call for a ban on small-scale mining as part of efforts to combat illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
Although the association admits that illegal mining has caused significant damage to water bodies, they argue that the strike by Organised Labour is politically driven and not the right solution to the problem. They believe that a complete ban would unfairly target those engaging in legal mining activities.
Speaking to Citi News on Tuesday, October 8, Mark Conduah, the General Secretary of the Responsible Small-Scale Miners Association, voiced the group’s strong opposition to any attempts to shut down their lawful operations. “We have also communicated our minds to Organised Labour, and they are not willing to listen to us. So we are also coming out in our numbers to demonstrate against Organised Labour that they are not more Ghanaians than us, so they cannot take away our livelihoods,” Conduah stated.
He stressed the need for their voices to be heard, adding, “We are going to demonstrate. We are going to show them that if they are working and earning their livelihoods from the government payrolls, we also deserve to mine and mine responsibly and earn a decent living out of mining.”
The protest is expected to be held in Accra, with a large number of miners participating to oppose Organised Labour’s actions. Conduah emphasized, “We are converging in Accra and there is going to be a massive demonstration against Organised Labour.”
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