Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has criticized the government for paying lip service to the fight against illegal mining, as Parliament approves 1.8 billion cedis for the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.
Speaking during the consideration of budgetary estimates for the Lands Ministry, Annoh-Dompreh questioned why the government, which claims to be serious about tackling illegal mining, had not set aside dedicated funding for this issue.
He has been advocating for an urgent conversation to make the necessary resources available for the Lands Ministry in its fight against illegal mining.
“The big fish here is galamsey, we can’t pretend about it. I’m disturbed. I have gone through the 19-page report, and there is no dedicated expression on galamsey, why?” he asked.
Annoh-Dompreh expressed disappointment that the budget, which is meant to cover an entire year, made no clear allocation for combating illegal mining.
“It is regrettable, totally regrettable. You can’t justify this. I think there should be further engagement, and I will urge the committee to engage the Minister,” he said.
“There should be a definite expression for the fight against galamsey, we can’t leave it as it is. In as much as I speak in support of the motion, I think these observations should be teased out,” he added.
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