The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, has stated that Ghana will need about $650 billion to reclaim lands and vegetation cover destroyed by illegal miners, popularly called ‘galamseyers.’
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, a renowned heart surgeon, said even with $650 billion, it could take the country more than six years to reclaim all lands and vegetation since the country has already lost about 10 percent of its vegetation cover.
The minister, who is also the chairman of the Inter Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, said this when he inaugurated five District Committees Against Illegal Mining (DCIM) at Kenyasi in the Asutifi South District of the Brong Ahafo Region last Thursday.
He said the setting up of the district committees showed the commitment of the government to effectively tackle illegal mining in the country.
The committees have been mandated to handle all illegal mining issues, train illegal miners on responsible and sustainable mining, designate small-scale mining sites and manage good relationship between small-scale miners other mineral right holders, according to the minster.
The five committees included Tano North, Asutif South and North, Dormaa East and Dormaa Central.
Prof Frimpong Boateng said: “The government has allocated some amount of money for your operations so I call on all Ghanaians, especially those in mining communities, to help tackle ‘galamsey’ to prevent further degradation of the vegetation cover.”
He called on the National Secretariat for Inter –Ministerial Committee, DCIM, Operation Vanguard and other interest groups, not to be complacent and continue to work hard.
“We have to address the canker now so that gradually we take measures to ensure foreigners do not come here and smuggle our gold and degrade our land and our forest.”
Deputy Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mineral Resources, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, said the six-month moratorium the government placed on illegal mining has yielded positive results.
She disclosed that the ministry was planning to establish a plant pool with equipment confiscated from illegal miners to assist 1,350 registered legal small scale companies when the ban is lifted.
The deputy minister also said that the government has developed a five-year Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) to, among others, create alternative jobs for the youth mostly engaged in illegal mining.
<<Print>>