Dr. Frank Amoakohene, during his recent visit to China
AFTER REALIZING how China has preserved its green forests and beautiful rivers, Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, has virtually admitted that, all this while, he has not been doing enough to fight the illegal mining menace ‘galamsey’, which is destroying the environment in his region.
According to him, his recent visit to Zhengzhou in China, has been an eye-opener to him that his efforts in the fight against ‘galamsey’ and protect the rivers and forests in his region, are woefully inadequate.
Being very candid, Dr. Amoakohene stated emphatically that he has personally seen beautiful and stunning-looking river bodies and rich green forests in China, which unfortunately is not what persist in the Ashanti Region, where he is the minister.
He said his region also boasts of green forests and beautiful rivers just like China but because the region has abundance of gold, some illegal miners, including some Chinese nationals, have taken advantage by destroying the rich forests and river bodies in search of the precious mineral.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, who is obviously impressed about what he has witnessed in China, has therefore pledged to go all out by working to jealously protect the river bodies and forests in his region for them to also look sublime like what is in China.
Speaking about lessons learnt from his visit to Zhengzhou, he stated, “Importantly for me, when I came, I saw how beautiful your rivers are and how green your forest is, and I want the same for my country.
“I have beautiful rivers and beautiful forest, however, we have gold in abundance, for which reason people come in and engage in illegal mining and destroy our forest and rivers.
“I visited one of your forest, which is very historic just beside the Shalom Temple, very green, mountainous and beautiful. I want that for my country too. So it’s one thing that I have also learnt during this visit to Zhengzhou City,” he said.
According to the Minister, the public would soon see a new energy and strength in fighting illegal mining from him, stressing that his short visit to China has been of great help to him, especially in the area of protecting the environment.
He said some expatriates are doing legal mining in the Ashanti Region, without posing threat to the environment but unfortunately some Chinese nationals collaborate with some locals to indulge in illegal mining, which poses a threat to the environment.
“Australia, they are there through Newmont. They have less environmental issues. South Africa they are also there through Anglogold, they also have less environmental issues.
“Unfortunately, in some cases, we arrest some of the Chinese nationals who collaborate with locals to do it illegally and spoil our water and spoil our forest,” he lamented, adding that he is ready to fight illegal mining headon.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Kumasi