Small scale miners in the Ashanti Region will on September 12, 2017 stage a demonstration to register their displeasure at the government’s stance towards Small Scale Mining after the expiry of the six months ban their enterprises.
Over 10,000 members of the Ashanti Regional Small Scale Miners Association are expected to clad in red and wield placards on the day to march the principal streets of Kumasi to demand of the government their constitutional right to work.
A press release signed by the leadership of the Association noted that the miners have demonstrated enough goodwill towards government’s fight against illegal mining through the operations of their taskforce in dealing with defiant illegal operators within the sector.
According to them, they have exploited all meaningful avenues to get government to at least rescind its decision against their legal employment for the past seven months to no avail and are left with no option but to hit the streets to drum home their frustration to protect their livelihood is threatened by the ban.
The small scale miners claim they are unable to pay back loans they acquired from various banks across the country as a result of the ban on their legal enterprises.
”With the resumption of the academic year, we find it extremely difficult to pay the fees of our wards and this might lead to untold vices in the coming weeks”, they stated.
They however assured Ghanaians that the demonstration would be peaceful and conducted in line with the Public Order Act since the Ghana Police Service has duly been notified.
Source: GhanaWeb
