The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has reaffirmed his commitment to ending illegal mining, revealing that he has already started receiving calls from powerful individuals attempting to interfere in the fight against the national threat of galamsey.
Speaking to the media on Monday (24 February) as he paid a surprise visit to the Offin-Shelterbelt Forest Reserve in the Nkawie forest district of the Ashanti Region, the minister issued a stern warning that no illegal miner – regardless of political affiliation – will be spared if found mining in a restricted zone, including water bodies and forest reserves.
“We are coming after you,” he said. “You have a choice – leave now or be arrested along with your co-conspirators.
“Investigations are already under way tracking those involved, from miners to their financiers and those who rent out excavators. They will all face the full rigours of the law,” Kofi Buah declared.
“Let me warn those trying to intervene on behalf of Chinese nationals arrested for illegal mining.
“Yesterday, I received one of those calls, and I made it clear: the only person who can instruct me to release them is the President of the Republic … And let me assure you, the president will not call anybody,” he said.
Under the government’s intensified efforts against galamsey, a joint military-police task force has successfully expelled all illegal miners from the Offin-Shelterbelt Forest Reserve within the Nkawie forest district.
Some arrests have been made and at least 15 excavators used in galamsey mining have been seized.
The Lands Minister commended the Ghana Police Service and other state security agencies for their dedication to enforcing the law, stating that the government fully supports their efforts to restore Ghana’s forests and water bodies.
Joining the tour were members of the Ashanti Regional Security Council, officials from the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Reporting by Jonathan Ofori, Asaase Newsroom, Kumasi
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