Cabinet has approved the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ proposal to implement and transition the Community Mining Scheme (CMS) and the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) into the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).
The implementation, the Lands and Natural Resources ministry says is in line with the vision of President John Dramani Mahama, to create sustainable jobs through responsible cooperative mining.
This new initiative will serve as Ghana’s flagship programme for reforming artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) by synthesising lessons from CMS and NAELP, while addressing their shortcomings through improved coordination, implementation, and efficient resource utilization.
“At its core, the programme will promote the establishment of locally owned mining cooperatives, providing members with professional legal, economic, and technical support and modernised facilities equipped with modern recovery technologies and water treatment systems.
This integrated approach will not only enhance operational efficiency and gold recovery rates but also systematically eliminate the use of harmful mercury through centralised, regulated processing centres. A cornerstone of the programme is its emphasis on skills development, which will not only support mining enterprises but also diversify livelihood options for local populations,” the ministry’s statement dated August 4, 2025, said.
It explained that rCOMSDEP is fundamentally designed to achieve sustainable community transformation through three critical objectives: “Promote and regulate environmentally responsible cooperative mining, restore lands degraded by illegal mining for productive use in agriculture, forestry, and other income-generating activities and provide vocational, technical, agricultural, digital, and entrepreneurial training to youth and women, equipping them with relevant skills for alternative employment and self-employment.”
To realise these objectives, the programme is structured around six interconnected pillars which includes; Cooperative Mining Scheme, Mine Support Services, Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship Development, Environmental Rehabilitation Programme, Agricultural Value Chain Developmen and Community Infrastructure Development.
Find below the full statement
