Less than 40 of 800 mining related cases have been adjudicated successfully by courts – Minister
Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has bemoaned the low adjudication of mining-related cases in courts, noting that out of 800 cases in courts less than 40 have been adjudicated successfully.
In a statement read on the floor of Parliament on the state of the country’s water bodies and forest resources, Mr Buah solicited the support of parliamentarians to help combat the illegal small scale-mining mining scourge collaboratively.
The Minister said the country’s water bodies and forest reserves were in deep crises because of the massive devastation caused by the activities of illegal small-scale miners.
Mr Buah mentioned short, medium, and longer-term measures to reform the sector and highlighted some initiatives including the “Blue Water” and “Tree for Life” to restore the polluted water bodies and degraded forests.
The Minister said he had inaugurated an 18-member Technical Working Committee to review the mining sector and implement radical reforms to sanitise the sector.
The Committee is expected to present its final report and recommendations to the government by the end of this month.
He added that plans were underway to revoke the Legislative Instrument (L.I 2462) to ensure the holistic protection of the country’s forest resources and biodiversity.
The Minister invited members of Parliament to participate in an upcoming Parliamentary Conference on Restoring a Culture of Proper Small-Scale Mining in Ghana.
Mr Kwabena Okyere-Darko Mensah, the MP for Takoradi, contributing to the statement, suggested to the government to install solar closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras along the country’s rivers and other water bodies to monitor the activities of illegal small-scale miners, otherwise known as “galamseyers”.
The move, he said, would enable the government to monitor both the river guards and the security operatives deployed to fight the illegal small-scale mining menace.
The MP also suggested that any plans by government to decentralise the licensing regime of the small-scale mining, the district mining committees should be involved.
Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah, the MP for Okaikwei Central, while contributing to the statement, called for de-politicisation of the illegal mining phenomenon and advocated a strong political will by the Executive arm of government to deal with the menace decisively.
Source: GNA