On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, the Ghanaian Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, officially launched the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (RComSDEP). A reform of artisanal and small-scale mining aimed at supporting miners in responsible mining practices.

The RCOMSDEP is merging the Community Mining Scheme (CMS), to formalize illegal mining (galamsey in Ghana) through the award of community concessions, and the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), which has been offering alternative jobs to illegal ex-miners since 2021. Indeed, in recent years, Accra has been looking for alternative solutions to the repression of Galamsey alone. This new reform is part of this quest for more sustainable ways. The program revolves around six levers and will rely on legally recognized mining cooperatives with shared treatment centers using mercury-free recovery technologies. A technical service desk including modern equipment rental, geological studies, safety training and regulatory compliance support will be set up

Le ministre ghanéen des Terres et des Ressources naturelles, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah a déclaré: “We are at un tournant o where l style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style”, serif">mini exploitation è é Re must become a catalyst for prosperity é , and not a curse é for our land. â The time has come to make our waters blue and our forests ê green thanks è responsibleà mining.

It should be noted that the widespread use of mercury pollutes waterways, reduces the fertility of agricultural land, threatens cocoa cultivation in particular, and deprives the State of substantial tax revenues. Alongside the repressive measures, the RComSDEP therefore presents itself as a new attempt to stem the harmful effects of artisanal and small-scale mining