The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has praised members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament for leading the fight against illegal mining activities in the country.
According to Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the support and initiatives suggested by the legislators to eradicate the menace known as ‘galamsey’, have been massive.
Speaking to Joy News’ Samson Lardy Anyenini on Saturday, he said, “let me use the occasion to thank my friends from the NDC leadership in Parliament, the Honorable Collins Dauda, Inusa Fuseini, Rashid Pelpuo, Suhuyini, and also the leadership of the NPP in Parliament – the various Chairpersons on our Committees. They have been tremendous. You will be surprised some of the measures and ideas that some of them have proposed.”
Mr Jinapor noted that following the government’s decision to suspend mining activities of both legal and illegal small-scale miners, some water bodies including River Pra and River Offin have begun to recover.
However, he was emphatic that there still remains more work to be done for government’s vision of a Ghana without galamsey to be realised.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister, therefore, called on all and sundry to rally their support behind the Akufo-Addo-led administration to ensure the country’s water bodies and forest reserves are protected from illegal mining operators.
“I am not too sure about so far so good. I am told as a result of the measures we have put in place, some of our water bodies – River Pra, River Offin and the rest are beginning to recover. It cannot be an event, it has to be a process and what is important is the concerted sustainability of whatever efforts we are trying to outlay and the measures we are outlining and enforcing.
“If you keep at it for a month or two and you take your eyes off the ball, you are certainly going to have problems. If we all put our hands on deck, I believe by all means, if we are not able to eradicate illegal small scale mining in our country, we can reduce it.
“The military has largely cleared River Pra. We need the support of everybody. What I have come to realize is that it helps a lot when you get encouragement from the country.” he stated.
Meanwhile, Mr Jinapor together with Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah will, all things being equal, on Tuesday tour River Pra in the Eastern Region to assess work done by the military in ensuring the ban on mining is enforced.