By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Minister-Designate for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ellembelle constituency in the Western Region, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has assured Parliament that his tenure as a minister for Lands and Natural Resources will see to it that all forms of mining in Forest Reserves will be banned.
The Minister-Designate for Lands and Natural Resources gave the assurance when he appeared before the Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, January 27, 2025, in Accra.
Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah reiterated that the Mahama-led administration is dedicated to curbing the galamsey menace.
The Ellembelle lawmaker hinted that Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 would be repealed to ensure no further mining occurs in forest reserves.
Armah Kofi-Buah again pledged to ensure the implementation of the National Democratic Congress’ Blue Water Initiative and Tree for Live Initiative to combat the effects of illegal mining.
“The Blue Water initiative seeks to heal and harness the environment by turning areas degraded by illegal mining into hubs of economic ecological recovery. We will also do the Tree for Life initiative, re-afforestation will be intensified,” the MP for Ellembelle pointed out.
He revealed that another initiative, the Restore Ghana Initiative, will be implemented to aid in rehabilitating already destroyed lands and water bodies.
The Minister-Designate for Lands and Natural Resources reiterated that the Mahama-led administration will ensure that no further mining is done in forest reserves.
