By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Dec, GNA – The Upper East Regional Directorate of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has announced that plans were advanced to institute the AKOBEN Programme as part of efforts to promote environmental safety and compliance in the mining sector in the region.
The AKOBEN Programme is a wholly Ghanaian tool for promoting environmental stewardship of mining companies with reference to their daily activities, post environmental impact assessment and issuance of an environmental permit.
The verification and monitoring tool, which is targeted at achieving responsible mining relies on the legal frameworks such as the Environmental Protection Agency Act of 1994, Act 490 and the Environmental Assessment Regulation 1999, Legislative Instrument 1652.
The move is to afford mining companies operating in the region to ensure that good environmental stewardship is adhered to while complying with laws governing the mining sector and to promote responsible mining.
Mr Asher Nkegbe, Regional Director, EPA, revealed this to the media at Gbani, a mining community in the Talensi District on the sidelines of a visit of World Bank Support Mission of the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining project.
The Regional Director explained that the Upper East Regional was becoming a mining hub with two mining companies already securing permits to engage in large scale mining and noted that it was imperative for stringent measures to be put in place to protect the environment and the health of the people.
Mr Nkegbe noted that the AKOBEN Programme would be used to rate the mining companies through environmental data collection, site auditing and analysis to promote responsible and environmentally friendly activities in the mining sector.
“The first ratings are internally disclosed to companies to get their feedback and after incorporating the feedback, and the final draft ratings are reviewed by the Agency after which, it is disclosed to the general public,” he explained.
The Regional Director said the mining companies were required to prioritise public safety and human health issues through best environmental practices and therefore urged the mining companies operating in the region to adhere to best practices and ensure safety of their workers.
“Under the best practices, mining companies are required to submit monthly environmental returns so that adverse impact of their activities on the community and the environment assessed.
“The submitted monthly environmental returns is critical in the compliance to permissible discharge levels assessment by the EPA,” he added.
GNA.