Business Analyst - June 21

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Tuesday, June 21, 2022MININGGhana needs to rethink its smallscale mining strategy. Here’s howGhana is making asecond attempt toreplace illegal smallscale mining with aformalized, regulatedversion after the firstattempt a couple ofyears ago achievedonly limited success.Here are some ideas onhow to achieve thiscrucial objective.GHana is the top gold producersin africa. what has caught littleattention, however, is the factthat more than 35 percent of totalgold output in Ghana comesfrom artisanal and small-scale miners.artisanal and small-scale mining is estimatedto support the livelihoods of some 4.5 millionGhanaians, about 12 percent of the population.they account for more than 60 percent of thecountry’s mining sector labour force.artisanal and small-scale mining is a lowtech,indigenous and often informal. It occursin over 80 mineral-rich developing countries.Up to 100 million people globally work in thissector.artisanal and small-scale mining has along history in Ghana. It was only in1989, however, that governmentrecognised its legitimacy through theSmall-scale Mining act (PnDCL 218),later integrated into the currentMining act 703 (2006). the actprovides a blueprint for itsformalisation. It also reserves smallscalemining for Ghanaians. the lawrequires prospective local miners toapply for a licence to mine up to 25acres of land in designated areas.Government’s intention toformalise the sector has had very littlesuccess. More than 85 percent of allsmall-scale mining operations inGhana are carried out by unlicensedoperators.Due to the sector’s evolvingnature, the distinction betweenartisanal and small-scale mining hasbecome contentious and blurred. toavoid any complications, mostscholars now use theminterchangeably. Some use the level ofsophistication employed to make adistinction. But in Ghana today onesees rudimentary tools (traditionalartisanal mining) and modern tools(small-scale mining) being used on a singlemining site.Jackboot approachGovernment’s response to illegal mininghas been to use the military to raid smallscaleminers. there is a long history to such acombative approach in Ghana. It dates as farback as the British colonial administrationwhich enacted the Mercury Ordinance of 1933to ban and criminalise native miners.In 2013, the then president John Mahamaformed the Inter-Ministerial taskforce to“flush out” illegal miners, which led to manyarrests and the expulsion of illegal Chineseminers. the use of force intensified under thecurrent president, nana akufo-addo, whovowed in 2017 to put his presidency on the lineto fight illegal mining in Ghana. thisculminated in the setting up of OperationVanguard, the largest centralised militarypolicejoint taskforce to combat illegal miningin Ghana.the real problem, however, isgovernment’s failure to implement itslegislative framework for the formalisation ofsmall-scale miners.Barriers to formalisationGovernment first introduced a frameworkfor the formalisation of small-scale minersmore than 30 years ago. But it has very little toshow for it. Less than 15 percent of small-scalemining operators have been able to acquirethe requisite mining licences. Many don’tbother to apply due to the tedious andcumbersome nature of the regulatory process.to gain a better understanding of why theformalisation process has not achieved much,an aspect of my PhD research sought tounearth local perspectives on the underlyingconditions for the creation of these informallocal mines. It examines how these underpinpersistent informality.there are two problems. the first is thatthe current formalisation blueprints fail to“This will facilitategreater recognitionand inclusion of localactors in thelicensing process. Itwill also opendialogue with localminers sincemunicipal and districtassemblies are thelocal developmentagents. This willbring decisionmaking processescloser to small-scaleminers and enhancethe effective policingand monitoring ofthe sector.adapt to the conditions of the majority of localminers. the second is that the blueprintsmake it very difficult or too costly for smallscaleminers to comply. they are therefore adisincentive to formalise.Only a small segment of small-scaleminers can raise the amount of moneyrequired to become formal operators. thecosts include application fees as well as themoney required for the preparation andprocessing of the application. then there arecosts for environmental permits, the hiring ofsurveyors and for the acquisition of businessdocuments. a prospective small-scale mininglicensee could spend at least US$4,000 tosecure the requisite legal status.when unofficial payments (bribes) areincluded, according to small-scale miners, thecosts of getting a licence to mine 25 acres canballoon to as much as US$7,000. a burgeoningbody of research has shown that artisanal andsmall-scale miners in Ghana are driven tomining by poverty.the second challenge revolves around acentralised bureaucracy and lack of effectiveengagement with all stakeholders. Despite theadministration of small-scale mining beingdecentralised into nine mining districtsacross the country, only the national headoffice can issue a small-scale mining licence.Key local stakeholders like municipal anddistrict assemblies with better understandingof the complexities play no effective role inthe licensing process.again, the creation of a centralisedtaskforce to address a localised problem runsparallel to existing local structures. thisundermines effective policing, monitoringand accountability.Finding solutionsPresident akufo-addo’s call for a dialogueon illegal mining in his January 2021 state ofthe nation address portends a potential shift.to create the enabling policyenvironment for a blooming artisanal andsmall-scale mining industry that isenvironmentally sustainable andeconomically beneficial to the state andcitizens, greater engagement with local actorsis the path to chart.the solution is the devolution of smallscalemining decisions to municipaland district assemblies working incollaboration with traditionalauthorities.this will facilitate greaterrecognition and inclusion of local actorsin the licensing process. It will alsoopen dialogue with local miners sincemunicipal and district assemblies arethe local development agents. this willbring decision making processes closerto small-scale miners and enhance theeffective policing and monitoring of thesector.the reform of the licence regime forsmall-scale mining should be driven bythe need to match the costs offormalisation with the complex socioeconomicdynamics of the majority ofoperators. this is attainable when policytreats small-scale mining as asurvivalist sector rather than a platformfor wealth creation. artisanal and smallscalemining has also suffered becauseof its portrayal by the media and publicmisrepresentation as a vehicle for“quick money”.This article is republished from TheConversation under a CreativeCommons license.
WORKPLACETuesday, June 21, 2022 PAGE 11Why good individual workers aresteamrolled into managementaFtER years working for herselfas a learning and developmentspecialist, Kate, 38, was delightedto get a staff job with amajor London-based traininggroup last year, working with one of theirbiggest clients. It was clear to her bosses shewas the most experienced and capable personon the team, and they soon came to herwith an offer: do you want to run the team?Kate, whose surname is being withheldfor job-security reasons, was cautious. Shewas aware the industry was new to her, unlikethe 30 people she would manage, andshe had no leadership training. “I thought itwould be interesting, but I did feel I wassteamrolled into it,” she says.But she admits the offer was appealing,and she didn’t want to risk turning down apromotion. “It was a position of power; thesalary and the benefits doubled what I wason. I thought, ‘wow, this is a very visible,prominent role. this may be a good area forme to move into.’”Kate regretted her decision almost immediately.She says she received no trainingor support when she stepped up into hernew role, and encountered roadblocks whenshe tried to bring in changes. “I was just constantlyfirefighting,” she says. She lastedthree months as manager before resigning,saying that by the end, the experience hadtaken a serious toll on her mental health.Kate’s experience may be extreme, butit’s not uncommon. In many industries, peoplewho excel at an individual level findthemselves on a track to middle or seniormanagement. Some embrace that trajectory,but for others who aren’t so sure it’s the paththey want to take, moving into managementcan be a miserable experience that takesthem away from the work they love and intoa world in which they feel isolated, inexperiencedor unsupported.But as companies start taking a more holisticapproach to their people policies, expertssay they are looking again at whetherthe traditional career track is the right approachfor everyone. that means examininghow they can support excellent individualswho don’t want to progress into management– and making sure workers can turndown a promotion to management withoutdamaging career prospects for good.Set up to fail?Máire Kerrin, founding director of thework Psychology Group based in Derby, UK,says most professions have tended to have“quite narrow conceptualisations of whatprogression is”, almost always framed aroundtaking on more responsibilities or supervisingothers.an individual who is “very proficient andcapable”, and getting a lot of satisfactionfrom their role, seems like a logical choice forpromotion, she says, particularly if the companywants to hang on to them. Many managersand supervisors also feel aresponsibility to elevate anyone who showspotential, says Kerrin – and as Kate found, ifsomeone feels promotion is the only waythey’ll ever increase their salary or standing,it’s hard to say no. there is often, after all, aperception that if you're not moving upyou're stagnating, or not showing real commitmentto the organisation.But there have always been those peoplewho are fully committed to their jobs, yetfind the idea of a managerial role deeply unappealing.that might be the excellentteacher who can captivate a classroom butnot a staffroom, or the sales rep who shineson their own but hates in-office teamwork.Ben willmott, head of public policy at theUK-based Chartered Institute of Personneland Development (CIPD), says problems arisewhen people “are promoted into managerialroles because of their technical expertise andnot because they have necessarily any naturalaptitude for managing people”. Most peoplecan become reasonable managers withsufficient training, he says, but there are certainlypeople who “don't have the aptitude,they don't have the desire” and find peoplemanagementskills a real stretch.It’s also clear many people who step upinto management receive inadequate support:CIPD’s research suggests that onlyabout 40% of line managers ever receive anyformalised leadership training. that means,argues willmott, that some managers “areslightly set up to fail”.when they do fail, it can affect boththem and their teams. Having an inexperiencedand unwilling manager in a post canbe hugely destabilising, says willmott. "theline manager is the lynchpin of organisationalculture," he says. the danger with aninexperienced or stressed manager is thatthey pass that inexperience and stress downthe line, so “it becomes part of the organisationalculture”.Kerrin says rather than retaining talent,promoting people who are unsure aboutstepping up and then failing to support themcan mean, like Kate, that they’ll decide toleave. “It's very difficult to go back within anorganisation and say actually, ‘no, I don'twant this new role’,” explains Kerrin. In thisworst-case scenario, it means the skillset“When they do fail, itcan affect both themand their teams.Having aninexperienced andunwilling managerin a post can behugely destabilising,says Willmott. "Theline manager is thelynchpin oforganisationalculture," he says.that originally made that person so valuableis entirely lost to the company.alternative career tracksInstead of losing valuable people becausethere’s only one rigidly structured way ofprogressing, willmott believes companiesshould focus on designing jobs around peopleand their particular strengths.In fact, says Kerrin, organisations arestarting to think very seriously about justthis, including how to incentivise valuableemployees who don’t want to join the “talentjuggernaut” of promotions. they’re startingto recognise that “there may be other waysthat they can contribute to organisations,where they're still learning and growing”.the tech world has led the charge on this,with many tech firms developing IndividualContributor pathways for people who want togrow within their role and the organisation,but not manage people. US-based cloud computingcompany Rackspace, for example,runs a technical Career track which enablesits most valuable programming staff to riseto executive positions and salaries, withouthaving to give up the hands-on work theylove, or take on managerial tasks they hate.Companies such as US-based softwarefirm Hyland have also explored ways of helpingemployees who want to grow within thecompany but not move up the leadershipchain, making it easier to make lateral movesinstead, or to receive salary increases forachievements other than promotion.But Kerrin says the idea of non-traditionalcareer pathways is still very much adeveloping area for businesses, in part becauseit presents a difficult juggling act. thepromise of an accelerated career path can bea major draw, particularly in graduate recruitment,she says; companies can sendmixed messages by simultaneously tellingstaff “actually, if you just want to stay in aparticular function and not move across thebusiness, that’s OK, too”. She says that messageneeds to be carefully managed so companiesaren’t “shooting themselves in thefoot”.‘the hardest job’If you don’t want to be a manager, Kerrinsays it’s important to have an "honest conversationupfront” with your boss, ratherthan feeling manoeuvred into a role youdon't want. that might involve stating veryclearly if salary or titles are not as importantto you as job satisfaction, for example, or explainingwhy you are satisfied with your currentwork.the challenge, she says, is to do it withoutsignalling that you're not interested inyour job or might become disengaged fromthe organisation. It helps to express interestin developing in other ways, like identifyingnew areas of expertise you could acquire orbecoming a mentor. “there may be many,many roles that you can take on that aren’tmanagerial,” she says. “It’s about being clearabout your motives and what you will do, becauseI think most managers will accept it.”willmott says whether a company willconsider a less traditional career path for anemployee will depend in part on the value oftheir skillset, and how keen the company isto keep them. He believes that while it's “crucialthat business leaders recognise why theyneed to invest in equipping their managerswith the skills to manage people”, they alsoneed to "take a step back and think, ‘OK, canwe do things in a slightly different way’” forindividuals who are valuable but happywhere they are.He recalls the example of a "very brilliantinvestigative reporter” who had no desire tobecome a manager or editor, but was so valuablehe nevertheless became "a high rankingsenior member of staff, but as a specialist, investigativereporter”. the trick for companies,he says, is to ensure that a non-managerialjob is not always seen as a dead end but can,for the right person, lead to progression opportunitiesthat work for everyone.
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Business Analyst - June 21

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