The Minister in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has announced that the government will repeal Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which allows mining in forest reserves. An earlier attempt to amend the L.I. faced strong backlash from environmental advocacy groups such as A Rocha Ghana and the Media Coalition Against Galamsey.
At the World Press Freedom Day event organised by the German Embassy and the UK High Commission in Accra, Kwakye Ofosu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating illegal mining, emphasising that their determination should not be underestimated. He mentioned that there is current legislative action underway. On March 20, the Minister for Environment presented L.I. 2462 in Parliament. The original intent was to amend this legislation to remove the president’s authority to grant licenses for operations in forest reserves.
“But the new thinking is that it should be revoked entirely. So, I have words from the AG that he will push for this once parliament resumes.” He further described illegal mining—commonly known as galamsey—as a national crisis requiring urgent action, likening its impact to terrorism.
“It is the policy of the government of Ghana that galamsey must be seen as a monumental challenge. So, we treat persons engaged in it the same way we will treat terrorists. “For that reason, for the past months, we have been in office, we have not relented in addressing it,” he stated.
By: Fred DuhoeandBervelyn Longdon
