President Mahama and other officials during the launch of the Tree For Life Initiative
PRESIDENT JOHN Mahama has stated emphatically that he will wield the axe on any of his government appointees that will be found culpable for engaging in illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey’.
He said his resolve to eliminate illegal mining from the country and protect the environment is not negotiable, so he will not spare any government official who would flout the rules.
“I will reiterate that any government appointee found violating this directive will face strict and severe sanctions, including possible removal from office,” the President disclosed.
President Mahama was addressing a gathering during the official launch of the ‘Tree for Life Initiative’ at Nkawie, a farming community in the Ashanti Region last Friday.
This great initiative, he explained, is among others aimed at protecting the rich forest reserves in the country and also uphold sustainable environmental practices.
President Mahama also disclosed that he has instructed the regulatory institutions and security agencies to intensify their operations against illegal mining across the country.
According to him, the operations of the security agencies and regulatory institutions have so far yielded positive results, as important arrests have been made to help stop illegal mining.
“In the last three weeks, we have made significant progress, 7 of the 9 no-go zones that I talked about, have been reclaimed. We are on course to reclaim the remaining two of the no-go zones.
“Excavators, 3 bulldozers, 3 pickups, 4 pump action rifles and 11 motorbikes have been seized from galamsey operators. 71 individuals who were caught engaging in illegal mining within forest reserves have been arrested,” he stated.
According to President Mahama, his determination and efforts to uproot illegal mining from the country permanently is not a nine-day wonder, stressing that he really means business.
“Just yesterday, the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology successfully laid LI 2462 before Parliament. Once this LI matures in 21 days, the President (myself) and any other president after me, will no longer have the power to authorise mining in forest reserves.
“It’s a historic step towards permanent environmental protection,” the President announced, attracting wild shouts of applause from his audience, which included traditional leaders.
Aside stopping illegal mining permanently, he also said plans are in the pipeline to reclaim all degraded lands in the country, calling on Ghanaians to offer his government the needed support.
“We shall also start reclaiming degraded lands. A pilot project by a private group has successfully restored 16 hectares of land. The intention is to scale this up to 500 acres reclaimed lands a year.
“In the short term, at least we should reclaim 10,000 hectares of land,” he said, adding that, “The Tree for Life Initiative complements our Blue Water Initiative, which was launched to rehabilitate and revitalise polluted water bodies.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi