Akufo-Addo: Stop damaging the environment with illegal mining
President Akufo-Addo is unhappy with the destruction of the environment in the name of mining across the country
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on Ghanaians to stop illegal mining to the detriment of the environment.
He said this is crucial due to the substantial revenue government continues to rake in from the mining activities in the country.
He was speaking at the opening of a two-day national consultative dialogue on small scale mining at the Accra International Conference Centre on Wednesday (14 April).
“Mining can create jobs, improve livelihood and generate wealth but it cannot and must not do so at the expense of damaging the very environment that produces the riches,” he said.
Akufo-Addo added, “We have to acknowledge that Ghana is not made up of only the humans but it is also made up of the soil, the mountains, and valleys, the forest, the rivers, seas, the lakes, the plants and animal life’s as well, without them, we humans cannot and will not survive and so they also need nurturing.”
The president said unacceptable mining and logging practices by some recalcitrant citizens have recently led to the pollution of many water bodies in the country.
National consensus
President Akufo-Addo was optimistic the consultative forum will come out with a broad base national consensus and policy to address the menace of illegal mining in the country
He said, “We must demonstrate that we love our land and are capable of taking care of it ourselves. We do not need foreigners to campaign for the protection of our land. It is the land of our birth, it is the land we inhabit that supports our livelihoods, and we the Ghanaian people must be its best protector.”
The two-day forum has brought together members of the Small-Scale Mining Association, Coalition of Civil Society Against Illegal Small-Scale Mining, key mining experts and chiefs, to deliberate on challenges confronting the small-scale mining sector and find solutions to them.
Fred Dzakpata
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