Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor
In light of government’s renewed and intensified fight against the illegal mining (galamsey) menace, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, has engaged members of the Media to brief them on what is expected to be the most radical and rigorous onslaught against the canker and also seek their support in the fight against illegal mining.
The meeting, which took place on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, saw the Lands Minister reaffirming government’s absolute commitment to tackling the galamsey canker and seeking the buy-in of the media as government ramps up measures to eradicate galamsey.
While dismissing the notion that the government had abandoned the fight,
the Minister explained that the fight against galamsey is typified by two result-making models: reformation of the sector and enforcement of the rules.
He explained that enforcement includes the deployment of the Operation Halt taskforce, decommissioning of excavators, imprisonment of convicted illegal miners, among others.
The reformation pillar anchors on the establishment and institution of measures to ensure the socio-economic empowerment of the illegal miners who were chased out of their concessions through the enforcement mechanisms. He mentioned the Community Mining Scheme, improvement of the licensing regime, and issuance of mercury-free machines as some of the measures taken by the government.
Highlighting the features of the renewed fight, which he is absolutely certain will guarantee success for the country, Hon. Jinapor mentioned inter-agency collaborations as a key component. He noted that the Ministry has engaged with regional Ministers and will hold talks with National Security, the Ghana Armed Forces, and allied institutions on strict enforcement of the laws against illegal mining.
He disclosed that the Minerals Commission has been tasked to double up and expedite efforts towards the certification of the Community Mining Scheme, which is a more sustainable mineral exploitation model endorsed by the World Bank.
The Minister, however, believes that without the efforts of the media, the government faces an uphill and near-impossible task in winning the fight and therefore appealed to the media to take a frontal role in the fight against illegal mining.
He declared the openness of the Ministry to welcoming new measures and suggestions from the media and other institutions that could help turn the tide in the galamsey fight and ensure the protection of the country’s forest reserves.
Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor identified politicization as one of the major stumbling blocks to the galamsey fight and urged Ghanaian politicians to eschew partisan politics in their commentary on the galamsey situation, as the impact of the canker is not limited to one political party.
During the engagement, he welcomed suggestions from the media and promised to incorporate them into the action plan for the revamped fight. He also urged them to use their platforms to preach against the politicization of the fight.
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