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Claim: A Facebook user, Kwame Panyin Bansah, claims that 1,402 small-scale licenses were issued under John Mahama’s four-year tenure.
Verdict: False. According to the Minerals Commission’s Ghana Mining Repository data, 59 mining licenses were granted from 2009 to 2016. Out of the 59 licenses, only four were small-scale mining licenses.
Full Text
In a Facebook post, Kwame Panyin Bansah claims that 1402 small-scale mining licenses were issued under John Mahama’s tenure.
“Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP, North Tongu, is a CERTIFIED LIAR! JM, in 4 years, issued 1,402 small-scale mining licenses. Nana Addo for eight years 1,014! Anokwa,” he wrote.
In the same post, the user attached a fact sheet with the logo of GhanaFact-check, which appears to be an attempt to mimic Fact-check Ghana, a fact-checking programme under the Media Foundation for West Africa.
Another Facebook user, Enoch Kofi Nyarkoh, posted the same fact sheet with the caption:
“He knows people don’t read, and no one will question him. He will change position soon.“
This follows the recent revelation of the astronomical figures of mining licenses issued under the current administration. Illegal mining has dominated social and traditional media discussions, with many citizens concerned about the state of our water bodies due to mining activities.
DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim as part of its fight against misinformation and disinformation.
Verification
DUBAWA’s analysis of the data set on mining licenses from the Minerals Commission’s Ghana Mining Repository revealed that 99 mining licenses were issued from 1988 to 2016.
John Mahama served as vice president of Ghana from 2009 till the demise of Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills on July 24, 2012. He assumed office and was elected president from 2012 to 2016 when he lost to Nana Akufo-Addo.
According to data from the Ghana Mining Repository, 59 mining licenses were issued from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2016. Out of the 59 licenses, four were small-scale mining licenses, three were reconnaissance licenses, 12 were prospecting licenses, 38 were mining leases, and one was a restricted prospecting license.
| Reconnaissance Licence | Prospecting License | Restricted Mining Lease | Mining Lease | Small-scale mining License | Others | Total | |
| Era | |||||||
| 1988-2008 | – | – | 1 | 39 | – | 40 | |
| NDC (2009-2016) | 3 | 12 | 1 | 38 | 4 | 1 (restricted prospecting) | 59 |
| NPP (2017-2024) | 5 | 168 | 190 | 113 | 1,211 | 303 | 1,990 |
Further, although DUBAWA could not reach the operators of the GhanaFact-Check website, we observed that the website from which the fact sheet is alleged to emanate has been redundant for several months. A thorough observation revealed no fact-check report on mining licenses on the website.
Conclusion
Based on DUBAWA’s research, it is clear that the content on the fact card purported to be from Ghana Fact-check is inaccurate.
