Accra, Oct. 11, GNA - The Minerals Commission would soon establish a Special

Prosecuting Unit to take legal action against illegal small-scale mining operators, popularly

known as 93galamsey."

Mr Mike Hammah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said this at the end of the

opening session of the Second Land Administration Project (LAP II) Orientation and Work

Planning Workshop in Accra on Tuesday. He expressed worry at the rate at which galamsey operators polluted water bodies with

impunity stressing that there was the need to engage the services of a professional

prosecutor with in depth knowledge of the technicalities involved in their operations and

the consequential effects on health and environmental sustainability. The workshop, which brought together government officials, consultants= ,

representative of civil society groups and stakeholders, aimed at discussing ways to

consolidate and strengthen land administration and management systems for efficient,

effective and transparent service delivery. Mr Hammah said it was challenging to put on trial the galamsey operators because

most of the prosecutors lacked technical capacity to engage judges on the i= ssue. "Even what to state on the charge sheet through to how to champion the argument on

the gradual health problems illegal small scale mining pose both to human, animal and

aquatic life is so difficult for such prosecutors that they cannot engage judges in court on

the issue," he said. Mr Hammah, underscored the socio-economic contributions of small-scale miners

stating that they employed more than one million people and contributed to 23 per cent of

the total gold mined in the country, but cautioned perpetrators to legalize their operations. Speaking on the first phase of the LAP, he said it reviewed statutes on land, carried out

institutional reforms and undertook pilots on a number of initiatives which included

Customary Boundary Demarcation, establishment of Customary Lands Secretaria= ts,

digitized Land Record system, Land Courts and Systematic Title Registration= .. Mr Hammah said LAP II aimed at consolidating gains made under the phase I by

deepening reforms, empowering land sector agencies to be more responsive to clients,

cutting down cost and time of doing business and providing enabling environment to

reflect the objective of efficient and transparent service delivery. He said to maximize project outcomes, LAP II would focus on mapping out primarily,

four regions namely, Greater Accra, Western, Ashanti and Northern. Mr Hammah said the project is expected to enhance access to land through the

completion of the legal framework and regulatory instruments. He was hopeful that the use of re-engineering and automation of processes as well as

the collaborative efforts of the judiciary to improve adjudication of land cases would make

LAP II a success.