Presiding Member of the Amansie Central District Assembly, Isaac Osei Duah, has defended the collection of fees from licensed miners in the district, insisting the practice is legal and intended to regulate mining activities, not promote illegal mining, known locally as galamsey.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Osei Duah explained that the assembly agreed that operators with government-issued mining licenses would pay a form of tax to the district.
“Every assembly has the right to take tax from people. That’s the law, and that’s our motive. Those who have licenses pay something we call tax for the assembly, and every excavator we see in the district is given a sticker. They also pay a fee to be allowed to mine” he said.
He added that this system has been in place for many years.
“We started this long ago, and it has been going on for a while. It did not originate under the current administration; it has existed across several political administrations,” Mr. Osei Duah said.
When asked about allegations that the fees encourage illegal mining, he explained that the assembly does not go to the mining sites to collect money.
“It’s just recently that people come to pay, which shows that the assembly is taking steps to deter illegal mining,” he said.
His comments come in the wake of a JoyNews Hotline documentary exposé that uncovered what it described as a “pay-to-destroy syndicate” in the district, where miners reportedly pay GH₵6,000 annually to operate banned changfang machines with tacit approval from local authorities.
Mr. Osei Duah, however, maintained that the revenue collection is not linked to illegal activity.
“The fees we collect are from operators using earth-moving equipment and are meant to ensure proper regulation, not to encourage galamsey,” he said.
ALSO READ:
