Executive director for Eco-Conscious, Awulah Serwaa has questioned government’s commitment to repealing Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which allows mining in forest reserves following Parliament’s indefinite adjournment.
The adjournment, which was announced by Speaker Alban Bagbin, has sparked concerns that the government’s promise to revoke the controversial law might be delayed indefinitely.
The revocation of LI 2462 was among the key measures outlined by the government, following calls for an immediate halt to illegal mining in and around water bodies and forest reserves by organized labour and Civil Society organizations.
In an interview on ABC in the Morning, Awulah Serwaa noted that the government failed to show genuine commitment towards ensuring the swift repeal of the regulation, as it had the option of adopting a simpler means of having the regulation repealed.
Awulah Serwaa, has also issued a warning about the growing threat posed by heavily armed illegal mining cartels in Ghana.
She cautioned that failing to confront these groups could lead to a severe national security crisis.
“We now have National Security concerns where armed persons are misbehaving, but we don’t seem able to arrest them.
We don’t want Ghana to sink to the level of certain countries in Latin America where drug cartels control part of the country,” she stated.
Awulah Serwaa pointed out the government’s lack of real action in combating the galamsey menace.
“There is no real fight going on,” she remarked, highlighting specific incidents such as illegal mining activities poisoning the Atronsu stream in the Western North Region. Despite reports to regional authorities, she lamented that excavators continue to operate unchecked.
“In Atronsu in the Western North Region, illegal miners are poising the Atronsu stream as we speak now. excavators are there and they are working.”
“Its been reported to the Regional Minister, Police Commander and other authorities and its still going on.”
“If we are not serious about getting a task force which is going to repel illegal miners from our forest reserves and water bodies, we face a very serious national security threat,” Serwaa warned.
In a related development, Eco-Conscious, alongside the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has condemned the brutal assault of an award-winning journalist known for his activism against illegal mining and all forms of environmental degradation, Erastus Asare Donkor and his colleagues during their assignment on illegal mining activities.
The organizations are calling for swift justice, urging the prosecution of the attackers and the suspension of Edelmetallum Mining Resources Limited’s operating license.
