A national employment programme to help provide job opportunities for illegal miners (galamseyers) has been launched.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched it on Monday morning (October 25, 2021) at Tarkwa.

It paves the way for the commencement of regulated, responsible and sustainable community mining, aimed at helping to get rid of illegal mining.

The programme, which is being rolled out in all mining areas in Ghana is expected to enable willing persons to mine in a responsible manner.

Dubbed, “National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme for Illegal Miners," President Akufo-Addo restated the government’s commitment to encourage proper small scale mining in Ghana as a way to eliminate illegal mining.

Over 200,000 illegal miners are expected to be engaged in the programme.

They are to be trained at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa and receive licenses to start mining.

The government is of the view that illegal mining (galamsey), can be tackled through the expansion of the Community Mining Scheme (CMS) in which host mining communities are embedded into the mining value chain.

The initiative, which started during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term, is the government’s response to tackling galamsey, with the aim of creating thousands of new jobs in host communities lawfully, under the purview of the Minerals Commission and exclusively for Ghanaians.

The miners would be allocated the space and also be provided with technical assistance through the services of geologists, mining engineers and other experts that would ensure that the mining is carried out in a responsible manner to ensure the safety of the miners, the environment and communities.

Launching the Tarkwa programme, President Akufo-Addo said the government is not against small scale mining but against illegal mining.