The Member of Parliament for Kumawu and a member of the Public Accounts Committee, Ernest Yaw Anim, has criticised the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for failing to enforce key environmental regulations governing small-scale mining operations.
Speaking during a Public Accounts Committee hearing on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Mr. Anim expressed concern that the EPA had not ensured the posting of reclamation bonds by about 20 small-scale mining firms, as required under the Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652).
Under the regulations, mining firms are mandated to indicate the level of environmental degradation their activities may cause and estimate the cost of reclaiming the affected land.
The EPA is then expected to review these assessments and demand payment of a corresponding reclamation bond to guarantee restoration after mining operations.
Mr. Anim said the EPA’s failure to enforce this requirement had contributed to the worsening environmental damage caused by small-scale miners.
“I believe that if the EPA is able to do this important assignment by giving us estimates of these lands, we would not be facing these issues. Even if a small-scale miner runs away, we would have enough information in the bond to take care of the land,” he said.
He added that strict enforcement of reclamation bonds would help reduce the scale of environmental destruction associated with illegal and poorly regulated mining operations.
“If the EPA starts acting, we will not be talking about galamsey because we would have enough resources to repair the damage that small-scale mining causes,” Mr. Anim stressed.
