By Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his government’s tough stance against illegal mining, declaring that no new licences have been issued for mining in Ghana’s forest reserves since his return to office.
Speaking at his first media engagement of his second term, the President said Cabinet had approved steps to repeal Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, which currently permits mining in reserves.
“To be clear, not a single licence has been issued to any company to mine in our forest reserves. The repeal of LI 2462 will crystallise in law what we have already demonstrated in practice,” he said.
President Mahama revealed that nine forest reserves previously taken over by illegal miners have been repossessed and restored. He added that permanent military detachments are being stationed to prevent further encroachment.
So far, 440 excavators, 1,400 water pumps, and 300 chamfang machines have been seized. In addition, 980 security personnel have been deployed to protect rivers and reserves, with plans to scale up to 2,000 personnel by year’s end.
The President outlined the next phase of his anti-galamsey strategy, which will focus on restoring degraded water bodies and reclaiming lands.
Feasibility studies for water restoration projects are underway. Meanwhile, imported earth-moving machines are being tracked in collaboration with the Transport Ministry, Customs, DVLA, and the Minerals Commission.
So far, 1,015 excavators and mining equipment have been registered and fitted with tracking devices.
Mr. Mahama said the crackdown is part of a wider effort to safeguard Ghana’s environment and natural resources.
“This is about protecting our future. If we lose our forests and water bodies today, generations to come will have nothing left,” he stressed.
