Lands Ministry to take inventory of seized excavators

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) has begun taking inventory of all excavators that have been seized from illegal mining sites since the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) began in 2017.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, explained that the measure was to ensure that all confiscated mining equipment was handed over to the ministry, in accordance with the country's mining laws.

According to him, no seized excavator had been sold, adding: ‘I say this because Section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2016 (Act 703) mandates the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to take custody of such seized equipment at illegal mining sites.

"And before these equipment will go out, we will have to publish detailed information on them, including the engine numbers, so that they will be gazetted notification to that effect.”

The minister said this in an interview with journalists during a visit to the Fure River Forest Reserve at Kotukrom, close to Bondae-Nsuta in the Western Region.

Observations

It was observed that 80 hectares of the over 15,000-hectare forest reserve had been destroyed by illegal miners in the area.

Fresh and deep gullies were seen all over the area, giving an indication that the galamsey operators were still active.

The turbidity of the river that was once the source of water for residents of the area had been worsened from the activities of the galamseyers.

The Daily Graphic learnt that the galamsey operators had changed their game plan and were now operating in the night, making it difficult for the security team to close in on them.

One of the excavators the illegal miners used to perpetrate the illegality was burnt by the forestry guards and personnel from the Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Resurgence

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said although the fight against illegal mining had received some challenges, all was not lost.

"As of September 2019 when I said we had achieved 85 per cent success in the galamsey fight, things had largely improved. However, my colleague, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), recently said it was 70 per cent, and this is because of the resurgence in the menace," he said.

He also said the government's reclamation project that was started in 2018, with the aim of reclaiming devastated lands, stalled because some of the contractors were found to be complicit in the galamsey business.

He commended the Forestry Commission in the Western Region for starting a process to reclaim 32 hectares of the destroyed Fure Forest Reserve.

Constraints

The Assistant Western Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr Stephen Asamoah Duah, said forestry guards had a Herculean task dealing with the galamseyers because the commission did not have enough personnel.

"These illegal miners come in the night and we have tried our best to take them on. What is not motivating enough is the punitive measures given to culprits. Our boys laid down their lives and arrested seven illegal miners, but the courts only fined them GH¢700. This is not motivating at all," he said.

He said the commission would continue to crack down on the galamsey operators.