The Asantehene, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is taking steps to ensure that gold sourced from Ghana is responsibly mined and traded. Within that spirit, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is committed to launching the Ghana Responsible Gold Mining Summit, which will work to ensure that gold sourced from Ghana’s small-scale mining sector is responsibly mined and traded in accordance with international standards. His Majesty has demonstrated immense commitment to the eradication of illegal mining and promoting responsible mining, and at the Summit, he will work with stakeholders to ensure that interventions to halt environmental degradation are coordinated and fully supported. The Summit is scheduled to take place on the 7th and 8th of April 2023 at the Manhyia Palace, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, to precede the 24th Coronation Anniversary of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. The Summit will be led by Africa Responsible Mining in collaboration with E ON 3 Group and Ansong Askew Ltd. The event is supported by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its agencies, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Other stakeholders, including international market makers, will also provide some collaboration.
Outputs
Outputs from the Ghana Responsible Gold Mining Summit will focus on aligning Ghana’s small-scale mining sector with the expectations of international markets. This will include measures to increase transparency and accountability in the sector in line with international standards of responsible sourcing.
Otumfuo’s commitment
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will work with the government of Ghana, traditional leaders, political leaders, and international stakeholders to ensure that gold sourced from the country is responsibly mined and traded. His Majesty is committed to building confidence in the international community about transparency and accountability in Ghana’s small-scale mining sector. The Asantehene’s quest for environmental protection and his abhorrence of illegal mining has been phenomenal. At various fora, he had minced no words about the need for Ghana to turn to responsible mining. At a Regional Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining, in Kumasi in May 2021, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II threatened to sanction chiefs within his jurisdiction who engage or assist in illegal mining activities. Also addressing the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs in Kumasi on October 14, 2022, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, called out his sub-chiefs for not taking up the fight against illegal mining but rather, accepting monies from illegal miners thereby, making it difficult for their part to make any meaningful contribution to the fight against illegal mining. Again, in October 2022, when the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, called on His Majesty at the Manhyia Palace, he touched on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s promise of putting his presidency on the line during the height of the war against the illegal mining menace and wondered why the President had even put his presidency on the line, and yet illegal mining was going on. And at the last meeting of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs for the year 2022, held in Kumasi on December 14, His Majesty re-emphasised his quest to root out illegal mining from his domain and went head to state that, his office will from next year (2023), summon chiefs whose lands have been destroyed by illegal mining, for questioning. He warned that any chief who is unable to provide valid reasons would be sanctioned so that they will learn a lesson and protect their lands from illegal mining.