Conflict, Collusion and Corruption in Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana: Chinese Miners and the State
Publisher: International Institute of Social Studies
Author(s): Gordon Crawford and Gabriel Botchwey
Date: 2016
Topics: Conflict Prevention, Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: China, Ghana
The global rush to grab resources took an unexpected turn in Ghana recently. With the hike in gold prices from 2008 onwards, a large influx of foreign miners, especially from China, entered into the artisanal and small-scale mining sector (ASM), despite it being ‘reserved for Ghanaian citizens’ by law. Thus all were working on an illicit basis. An astonishing free-for-all ensued in which Ghanaian and Chinese miners engaged in contestation and conflict over access to gold, as well as collusion and collaboration, a situation described as ‘out of control’ and characterised by ‘a culture of impunity’ at its height in 2012 and 2013. Chinese miners in particular, numbering tens of thousands, introduced mechanisation and new technology, resulting in irrevocable changes to this traditional economic sector in a short space of time. Further, the intensification of mining caused incalculable environmental damage to both land and water bodies. Where was the state in this context? The government was very slow to respond, despite increasing media coverage of local conflicts and environmental destruction. Finally President Mahama established a Task Force to ‘flush out’ illegal miners, a military-style operation with the deportation of almost five thousand Chinese miners and small numbers of other nationalities. Yet the state was not absent pre-Task Force. Foreign miners were able to operate with impunity because they were protected by those in authority, i.e. public officials, politicians and chiefs, in return for private payments. Various state institutions failed in their responsibilities. Yet this was not due to weakness or lack of capacity. Rather public officials ‘turned a blind eye’ to illicit gold mining in return for a share in the ‘millions of dollars’ being made. Public office becomes a means of private accumulation rather than public service. The consequences of resource injustice for low-income rural Ghanaians who depend on ASM are explored, with discussion of the formalisation and regularisation of the sector that is required in order to achieve greater resource justice. The paper is based on fieldwork undertaken in 2014.