Govt will revoke Mining in Forest Reserves L.I — Minister assures

President John Dramani Mahama has directed that the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation 2022, L.I. 2462, be revoked as soon as possible, the Minister of Government Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, has stated. 

Mr Kwakye, who doubles as the Spokesperson to the President, said although a bill was laid in Parliament on March 20, this year, to amend portions of L.I 2462, the new directive would revoke the regulations in its entirety.

He said the mandated state institutions, including the Office of the Attorney-General, were working together to revoke L.I 2462, "and as soon as Parliament reconvenes this month, the necessary action would be taken."

The Abura Asebu-Kwamankese Member of Parliament (MP) added that apart from the revocation of L.I 2462, the government had also begun the process to review and strengthen existing mining laws as part of comprehensive reforms meant to fight and win the battle against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.

Mr Kwakye revealed these at the World Press Freedom Day Reception held at the Residence of the German Ambassador, Daniel Krull, in Accra last Monday. 
 

New dawn

He stressed that the era where there appeared to be governmental complicity in galamsey was over, and that President Mahama would do everything possible to protect the environment.

"President Mahama has sent a strong signal that he will not let any of his appointees who are complicit in galamsey go free.

This government did not come to replace any individuals or group of persons who were mining illegally," he stressed.

Again, he said if there was ever a time in the country where the government shielded its officials and associates who engaged in illegal mining from facing the law, that would not be countenanced by the current administration.  

Journalists’ safety

The minister said since the media had played a crucial role in sustaining the galamsey fight over the last decade, the government would take the necessary steps to guarantee the safety of journalists who reported on that environmental crime.

While condemning attacks on journalists covering illegal mining, he reiterated that President Mahama remained committed to improving the welfare of journalists by working to ensure their safety.

"I want to assure the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) that the government takes the safety of journalists seriously and will work with them.

No journalist will be victimised for criticising the government, particularly on the issue of galamsey," he added. 

Collective effort

Mr Kwakye said it was the policy of the government that galamsey be treated as terrorism, "so if any person is involved in the illegality, they will be treated the way we will treat terrorists."

He stressed that the fight against illegal mining was a complex one and required all stakeholders to be on board.

For his part, the President of the GJA, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, commended the diplomatic community, particularly the German Embassy and British High Commission, for their contribution to the fight against environmental crimes, particularly galamsey.

He rallied the entire diplomatic community in Ghana to constitute a potent force to help fight illegal mining.  

He described the theme of the event, "relevance of press freedom in times of galamsey", as apt given that the menace was a major threat to the very existence of Ghanaians.

Mr Dwumfour emphasised that the media needed freedom to be able to discharge its responsibility of environmental reporting.

The GJA president said it was worrying that although the media had stood the test of time in the galamsey fight, even when the government gave up because of electoral votes, some journalists were still being attacked in the line of duty.

"If the media can continue with this work, we need to protect journalists who report on the environment," he said.

He called for condemnation of attacks on journalists in the line of duty and the subsequent prosecution of such attackers. 

Mr Dwumfour said the government must demonstrate its willingness to protect journalists by ensuring that the police, Attorney-General and government machinery helped weed out perpetrators of the attacks on journalists. 

Capacity building

Mr Krull spoke about the structural challenges to media freedom, especially private media ownership, stressing that although the proliferation of the media organisations could be a mark of media freedom, it also posed critical challenge since private owners had their motivation.

He said the galamsey fight in Ghana might not have received the maximum media coverage it deserved because of its association with political figures who might have links with galamsey.

The British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, said there was the need for the media to shed more light on galamsey.  

She said while gold was crucial to national development, irresponsible mining posed serious environmental challenges and needed to be dealt with decisively.

The Commissioner underscored the need to provide protection for journalists who covered issues of the environment.  

He also stressed the need for state institutions to support those journalists in a collaborative effort to protect the environment.