The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has emphasized the need to involve politically exposed persons in discussions aimed at tackling illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
His remarks come amid deliberations on Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which seeks to revoke the President’s authority to grant mining permits and licenses for operations in forest reserves.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, March 18, the former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources argued that influential politicians cannot be excluded from the conversation, as illegal mining continues to pose a major threat to Ghana’s forest reserves.
“Mr. Speaker, as we speak today, mining is happening in almost all the forest reserves in our country.
The Coalition Against Galamsey, led by the very respected Ken Ashigbey, has raised concerns about how political kingpins, believing that their party has won power, are taking over the forest reserves of our country.
“Mr. Speaker, we can have this debate here, the majority and others can dispute it, but I have been a Minister of Lands before,” he stated.
Abu Jinapor also cautioned that ignoring the role of political figures in illegal mining could undermine efforts to combat the menace, warning of dire consequences for Ghana’s forests.
“The only thing that can prevent the fight against galamsey is the lack of candour. If anybody stands here today and says that political kingpins have not taken over our forest reserves with mining, let’s say it and give ourselves six months, one year, and two years, and we’ll see where galamsey will be,” he warned.
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