Nine district mine officers to proceed on leave

Nine district mine officers in the country would from Monday proceed on indefinite leave, Mr John Peter Amewu,the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources,has announced .

He said the officers had failed to ensure effective supervision and compliance with the mining rules and regulations, while others had been at post at particular districts for over 10 years.

Mr Amewu gave the directive when he led a team to Tumantu in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region on Sunday.

The visit followed the expiration of the ultimatum the Minister gave for all illegal miners to evacuate their equipment and leave mining sites.

He said the government was not against mining but all operators of mining concessions should comply with sustainable environmental practices and within the remits of the mining law.                       

In a related development,the minister has issued a 30-day ultimatum for all excavators parked in mining communities across the country to be evacuated.

He said the operators of the excavators had the intention of returning to the mining sites to continue their mining activities hence the directive.

The Minister gave the directive at Tumantu in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region when he led a team to visit some mining sites on Sunday.

This followed the expiration of the ultimatum the Minister gave to all illegal miners to evacuate their equipment and leave mining sites.

He said henceforth all excavators would be registered and would install tracking devices to monitor their operations.

The Minister said illegal miners would be integrated into the mainstream mining by providing them alternative livelihoods under the Multilateral Mining and Integrated Project.

Illegal mining has polluted water bodies and degraded the vegetation all over the country.

Source: GNA