LANDS MINISTER LAUNCHES FOUR RESPONSIBLE MINING COOPERATIVES IN TARKWA AND BOGOSO TO TACKLE GALAMSEY
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has inaugurated four additional community mining cooperatives in the Western Region as part of efforts to formalise small-scale mining, combat illegal mining and create employment opportunities for young people.
The launch took place on Monday, November 9, 2026, under the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).
The four cooperatives are Tanoyaa and A’koon societies in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, and TAX ES, Bogum and Alignment in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality.
The programme seeks to organise local youth and artisanal miners into registered community cooperatives, allowing them to obtain certificates and permits to operate within approved mining concessions as a lawful alternative to illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The schemes are supervised by the Minerals Commission in collaboration with the Department of Cooperatives. Beneficiaries are expected to comply with mining and environmental regulations, protect water bodies, forests and farmlands, and observe safety, transparency and land reclamation requirements.
Presenting the permits alongside Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson, Mr Buah warned that forest destruction across the country had reached alarming levels, with affected areas reportedly exceeding the equivalent of 12,000 football fields.
He stressed that efforts to generate wealth must not come at the expense of environmental protection and national security.
The rollout comes amid renewed concerns over illegal mining activities along the Tano River and warnings from researchers that rivers polluted by galamsey could take up to 100 years to recover, while contaminated land could require as many as 300 years.
Mr Buah said the success of rCOMSDEP under President John Dramani Mahama would depend on cooperation among host communities, traditional leaders and regulatory institutions to prevent illegal operators from undermining the programme.
The four new cooperatives add to earlier groups established in other parts of the country, including five launched in Ellembelle, three in Nzema East, as well as schemes in Ahanta West, Mpohor Fiase and the Eastern Region.
Acting National Coordinator of rCOMSDEP, Shehu Siddiq, said the secretariat would intensify efforts to register more cooperatives to create formal employment opportunities for young people.
Western Regional Cooperatives Director Akwasi Adjei Bawuah also pledged regulatory support to ensure the programme operates effectively.
Meanwhile, Tarkwa-Nsuaem MP Issah Taykor and Prestea-Huni Valley MP Robert Wisdom Cudjoe welcomed the initiative, describing it as an opportunity to provide livelihoods for unemployed youth in the two mining communities. They urged beneficiaries to operate within the established rules and regulations.
