The Chief Justice (CJ), Justice Anin Yeboah, says the judiciary will do everything possible, within the remit of the law, to support the crusade against the dreaded illegal mining in Ghana.
According to him, Ghana is a nation of laws and it is something that he believes Ghanaians are proud of, stressing “I want to be very clear that the Ghanaian Judiciary will do its best to discharge their responsibilities in this existential battle.
“We will do all in our power to help the nation win this fight and we will partner with any agency of state that is ready to work with us to achieve the needed result. The cooperation of every Ghanaian is needed.”
According to the Chief Justice, as members of the Judiciary, they share very acutely the concern that the entire nation has about the menace of illegal mining.
“Not only is it depriving the nation of what is due her from the exploitation of resources, it is exacting an incalculable toll on our environment. The pictures and videos we see of polluted rivers are not mere disembodied images. They have a very real impact on our lives today and years to come.”
The Chief Justice has, therefore, implored on Ghanaians to join this battle on behalf of generations yet to come.
“The current generation must leave behind a nation that can support healthy and prosperous lives and not one where clean drinking water is a luxury”, he noted.
Mr Anin Yeboah also pointed out that when aberrant conduct, such as illegal mining arises, it is the law that Ghanaians must turn to, not self-help.
The Chief Justice made these assertions during the opening session of a Special Training Workshop organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Minerals Commission in Kumasi yesterday.
The workshop will discuss the offenses and penalties of the regime under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and Minerals Mining, under (amendment) Act 2019, (995) (OFFENCES) for Judges and Magistrates.
With 32 Judges and Magistrates drawn from mining areas in Ashanti, Western, Central, Brong Ahafo regions, with other regions across Ghana in attendance, the three-day event seeks to have comprehensive interpretation on the Ghanaian mining Act, the new amendment with their corresponding offenses and penalties .
According to Justice Anin Yeboah, the partnership with the Minerals Commission is important, adding that as the regulatory body for the sector, they have direct responsibility and oversight over this issue.
“It is gratifying that they have chosen to partner with the Judiciary to ensure that those engaged in this assault on the State resources receive the punishment and correction they deserve.”
While Chief Justice Anin Yeboah underscored the training will enable them to build the capacity of judges to interpret the more technical provisions of the law guiding mining in Ghana, he expressed his appreciation to the Minerals Commission whose initiative has made the programme a reality.
“The offer to train some of the members of our Bench in the Offences and Penalties Regime under the Minerals and Mining Act (2006) Act 703 is very crucial and timely.”
Walking the gathering through the impact of illegal mining, the Chief Justice told the function: “If you have noticed and have been concerned by any changes in the quality of the water coming through your tap, you may be feeling that effect. And if you have felt it, imagine how it is for those who live along those rivers and rely directly on them.
“Think also of the farmers whose output has been affected. Think of the parents who, according to a troubling report recently published, are giving birth to children with various genetic challenges, owing to this menace.”
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Samuel Abu-Jinapor, who addressed the function, indicated that following the call by the President of the Republic for a National Dialogue on Small Scale Mining, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources successfully held two National Consultative Dialogues in Accra and Kumasi.
He continued that at these Consultative Dialogues, it became clear the far-reaching and negative impact of the menace of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) on the environment and the need to deal with it is a national emergency.
Abu-Jinapor continued that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, in partnership with relevant stakeholders is working tirelessly to clean up the image of the Ghanaian mining sector by focusing on the eradication of illegal small–scale operations (galamsey).
Referring to the Minerals and Mining Policy (2014), Mr. Abu-Jinapor indicated that Ghana is well endowed with substantial mineral resources, the major ones being gold, diamond, manganese and bauxite.
Gold, the predominant mineral extracted in the country, he disclosed, accounts for over 90% of all mineral revenues annually over the past few decades. As of 2019, Ghana was the top African producer of Gold.
Historical data shows that a significant percentage of Ghana’s gold exports, leading to this enviable position was recovered from small-scale and artisanal mining operations, bemoaning that the road to achieving the accolade of being the number one gold producer in Africa was achieved “through the wanton destruction often caused by the operations of illegal operators (galamsey) of the irreplaceable water bodies and various plant species, which were hitherto preserved in the various forest reserves.”
Appealing to stakeholders about the need to protect the Ghanaian environment, Samuel Abu-Jinapor explained that policy makers, Judges, traditional rulers, security personnel, religious leaders, professional bodies, political leaders and other stakeholders in the mining industry all have crucial roles to play in this agenda.
He said: “It is my fervent belief that with the help of God and the diligence and vigilance of stakeholders, we must and would be able to preserve our nation’s land, forest, wildlife and improve on the management of mineral resources for the benefit of generations unborn.
According to the minister, the urgency to remove the negative impact of galamsey and the need to garner multi-stakeholder collaboration is what has fueled the government’s current agenda to implement several measures aimed at bringing sanity to the mining sector.
This, he continued, include the following; a freeze on the issuance of Forest Entry Permits by the Forestry Commission for purposes of mining, a suspension of all prospecting, reconnaissance and/or exploration activities in all forest reserves and the designation of Forest Reserves and Water bodies as RED ZONES.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources further noted that decentralisation of the enforcement mechanism which now has the various Regional Security Councils (REGSECs) at the forefront of our enforcement effort and the commencement of a specific military operation dubbed – “Operation Halt” to rid the ‘RED ZONES’, thus Forest Reserves and water bodies of illegal mining activities and the Green Ghana Project which seeks to plant an initial five million trees in a day across the country.
In his welcome address, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, noted that mining has been part of Ghana since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, emphasising that it is also a fact that illegal mining or galamsey has been with Ghana for a very long time.
However, he bemoaned that in recent years, galamsey has taken an unprecedented twist, causing destruction to farms, water bodies and forest reserves. Read Full Story
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