The Director of Communications for Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), Mr John Afful, has said the rCOMSDEP has emerged as the centrepiece of Ghana’s renewed strategy to curb destructive mining practices and restore severely degraded forest reserves and water bodies.
Speaking on Ghana Ekosen Morning Show on Adehye 99.1 FM in Kumasi, he told show host, Bright Takyi that the programme was deliberately crafted to correct years of weak oversight and widespread illegal mining that have left large portions of Ghana’s forest reserves devastated.
Although small-scale mining has long supported livelihoods, he noted that the rapid expansion of galamsey activities over the past decade made a complete sector-wide reset necessary.
rCOMSDEP replaces the former National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), widely known as Community Mining.
Afful explained that the previous model was plagued by loopholes that enabled non-local operators to take control of concessions, worsening the destruction of farmlands and the pollution of major water bodies, including the Tano and Ankobra.
The new programme, he said, was designed to close these gaps and restore community ownership of mining activities.
At the heart of rCOMSDEP is a cooperative-based mining system exclusively for indigenes of mining communities.
These cooperatives will receive technical support and undergo structured training to ensure their operations meet strict environmental, safety, and regulatory standards.
Afful stated that rCOMSDEP’s mission revolves around restoring degraded lands, empowering local communities economically, and sanitising the small-scale mining sector through strong oversight.
To ensure effective implementation, a dedicated monitoring and compliance team has been established to oversee all cooperative mining sites and enforce adherence to responsible mining practices.
He said three cooperative mining projects under rCOMSDEP have already been launched and are expected to become fully operational before the year ends.
He said a new revenue-sharing arrangement will underpin this community-focused model.
Under the system, 80 per cent of proceeds will go directly to the cooperatives, while 15 per cent will support community development initiatives such as health facilities.
The remaining 5 per cent will fund rCOMSDEP’s administrative, training, and land reclamation activities.
Afful expressed confidence that the programme represents a decisive break from past shortcomings and offers a credible path toward reversing the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining.
He projected that with disciplined implementation of rCOMSDEP’s structure, many polluted water bodies could begin to recover their natural clarity within two years.
He stressed that rCOMSDEP is more than a mining intervention—it is a long-term development framework aimed at creating jobs, promoting responsible resource use, and safeguarding Ghana’s natural environment for future generations.
