The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners has called on the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to reveal its intentions for the small scale mining sector following its fight against illegal mining after assuming office in 2016.

The Association’s call follows the launch of the NPP’s manifesto ahead of the 2020 election, which the association says does not focus on the industry.

In a statement issued by the Association on Thursday, 27 August 2020, the Small Scale Miners noted that it “wishes to draw the attention of the ruling New Patriotic Party to the scant attention by way of policy for the small scale mining sector in its 2020 manifesto launched on Saturday, 22nd August 2020.

“The Association wishes to believe the party did not trivialise the sector that contributes 48 percent of all gold mined in the country, and a sector it has since 2017 implemented reforms to sanitise."

According to the association, after carefully reviewing the NPP’s 2020 manifesto, it is “extremely shocked that the party would capture the sector in a hurry in its proposed manifesto.”

The association has, therefore, called on the NPP “to come out with a document outlining and detailing its intentions for the sector, having since 2017 reformed the sector from its informal nature to a more formalised sector.”

The Association further requested the party to formulate “a policy on the sector to know the party’s next steps towards the fight against illegal mining, which war it waged in its first term in office.”

It added that: “While it regrets the seeming oversight,” it believes it “is not too late to revisit the issue” and advertise the party’s intentions for the small scale mining sector.