A global fund that works to prevent violent extremism is turning its attention to Ghana’s mining communities. The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, known as GCERF, says it has spent about a year developing a framework to address mining-related insecurity, with a focus on artisanal and small-scale mining.
Maria Alessi Polidoro, GCERF’s regional manager for the Gulf of Guinea, announced the work this week at a two-day regional meeting in Accra. She said the fund has invested $3 million in Ghana since late 2023 and backs 11 civil society organizations working to prevent violent extremism, promote dialogue and create livelihoods for vulnerable groups.
What the framework aims to do
Polidoro said the framework would bring together communities, government agencies, traditional authorities, civil society and private companies, including the Chamber of Mines. It aims to treat the security side of small-scale mining alongside its environmental effects. Mining, she said, should not be viewed “just as a mining problem and an environmental issue,” but as a sector that can add to national wealth and community resilience.
Affected communities would sit at the center of decisions. Local civil society groups would strengthen existing platforms, or create new ones, where residents can raise concerns, propose ideas and work with authorities and mining companies to settle disputes and build trust.
Small-scale mining supports many rural livelihoods in Ghana but also brings land degradation, water pollution and weak regulatory coordination, according to UNDP Ghana.
What is still unclear
The report reviewed does not say what the framework contains, when it will roll out or which mining areas it will cover. It also does not explain how the fund defines the link between mining and insecurity, beyond saying mining-related activities can contribute to conflict as well as livelihoods.
The meeting drew officials from the National Security Council Secretariat and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and was organized with support from Germany.
