President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has announced significant progress in the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining.
He revealed that seven out of nine forest reserves previously occupied by illegal miners have been successfully reclaimed. This move is part of a broader initiative to protect the environment and curb illegal mining activities.
To further demonstrate the government’s commitment, President Mahama stated that a legislative instrument has been introduced in Parliament. This new measure removes the president’s authority to grant mining access in forest reserves, reinforcing the government’s resolve to preserve these protected areas.
“We promised to ban illegal mining activities and ban mining in forest reserves and roll out our Tree for Life and Blue Water initiatives to heal and sustainably harness our environment.
In the first 120 days, we’ve taken decisive actions through a five-pronged strategy to overhaul and sanitize the mining sector. This includes regulatory reforms and strengthening law enforcement, including joint task forces, arrests and seizures of mining equipment, stakeholder collaborations, and reclamation of degraded lands. Seven out of nine forest reserves have been reclaimed.
Illegal miners have been flushed from these forest reserves. Concerning the ban on mining in forest reserves, on March 20, a legislative instrument, LI2462 was presented to parliament to amend the environmental protection mining in forest reserves regulation. This amendment removes the president’s power to grant approval for mining in forest reserves. I plan also to Amend the minerals and mining act 2003 Act 703 to prohibit mining in forest reserves. This will effectively ban mining in our forest reserves,” he explained while addressing the people of Ghana.
