NORTHCODE Ghana, held a two days stakeholders forum on reducing natural resources induced vulnerabilities to radicalization and promoting integration of Fulbes into host communities in the Savannah Region.
Speaking at the forum, Mr. Dokurugu Andrew Yahaya the technical lead for NORTHCODE Ghana mentioned that NORTHCODE is a national NGO which has offices in Tamale and Damongo and they operate in the Savannah region, the Northern region, North-East region and the Upper-Wast Region.
Mr. Dokurugu mentioned that the stakeholders forum is to bring them together to discuss and look at local mechanism by which they could build consensus on how we could manage small scale mining in Bole area.
Again this activities is actually part of a series of action that they are carrying out on the security in Northern Ghana Phase III (SING3) of the program and sponsored by STAR-GHANA Foundation and being Funded by Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.
The Technical Lead for NORTHCODE added that STAR-GHANA is working with various local civil societies organizations to address and identified threats security and to work with communities and stakeholders to improve peace and security in Northern Ghana, and so it is within this frame work that NORTHCODE is working in the Bole Municipality, specifically looking at issues such as farmer- herder conflict and insecurity related to mining.
“So the two days conference we had at the Wuripe Sons and Lodge in Bole was specifically to look at the mining aspect and from previous study we done we have come to identify a number of security issues that are link to unregulated mining in the Municipal” he said.
The two days conference is to also give the opportunity to think together and to see the way forward and how they could work together to come out with local solutions and mechanisms that will enable us to move towards a more regulated, more sanitize and a better mining ecosystem in line with Ghanaian law so we make mining spaces save and also getting the maximum returns for the gold resources in the Municipal.
He added that at the end of program they will look at certain key actions that stakeholders think they could take up and hopefully and as the take them through and as they work together on the various issues and with the support of the regulators and masters of policy makers they will be able to improve and regulate small scale mining in the Bole area.
Mr. Dokurugu also urge our chiefs not to entertain illegal mining in their communities and to also support the fight against illegal mining and together Bole Municipality will move forward.
Source:Diwura Abdul Fataw