Armah Buah Woos W/R Chiefs To Support Fight Against Galamsey

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has called on Chiefs and Queens Mothers in the Western Region to lead the fight against illegal mining in the region.

“I want to implore our traditional leaders to present a united front in leading us to help preserve our region as the shining star of Ghana”.

In his first meeting with members of the Western Regional House of Chiefs (WRHC) in Sekondi, as sector Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah told the chiefs that the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as ‘Galamsey’ must be led by the traditional authorities.

“Now, to put it bluntly, the fight against galamsey must be led by the chiefs and traditional authorities in every nook and cranny of this country.

“I will put it again, if we are to succeed in our fight against illegal mining against the degradation of our forest and our water bodies, it must be supported and led by our chiefs and traditional authorities,” he said.

The Lands and Natural Resources ministertold the chiefs that he had signed agreements with the president to drive the campaign to heal Ghana and stop the bleeding that galamsey and other illegalities had caused to the environment, lands, forest and our water bodies.

“And as a son of the soil, I came to seek your blessings in navigating the ministry and to ask for your utmost support to help us reset this nation for good and for our generations yet to be born”.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, conceded that the biggest challenges facing Ghana today is illegal mining.

“As I’ve stated, degradation of our forest and the water bodies that I have described will be the immediate issues to be addressed, and while we have outlined several initiatives, such as the tree for life, re-afforestation agenda, the blue water operation and the introduction of Water Guards initiative among others. The utmost support of the House of chiefs will be crucial in this effort”.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah further told the chiefs that as part of President Mahama’s government reset agenda, several policy options and measures have been outlined to help sensitise the mining sector, particularly small scale mining.

“We want to ensure that mining operations are not conducted in unapproved areas such as water bodies and areas that I have described.

“We will strengthen the capacity of the mining regulatory institutions to be able to do a quickturn around time and to engage with stakeholders effectively”.

He assured the chiefs that they would be the first to begin that discussion on licensing and not the opposite.

Touching on the community mining scheme, the Minister indicated that, the scheme in its current form has challenges and that it has not been inclusive enough to be able to address the challenges underpinning its work.

As a result, he said his Ministry intended to establish the artisanal small scale mining cooperatives for community members interested in artisanal small scale mining to facilitate a setting up of mining equipment pools in each of these small scale mining areas.

The chiefs expressed appreciation for the meeting and suggested ideas on how to combat illegal mining.

Meanwhile, the Hon. Minister used his visit to the House of Chiefs to broker peace among the various factions within the Traditional area to ensure that peace and unity prevails in the region, whiles cautioning against chieftaincy disputes and other issues that could derail the progress of the region.

Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Paramount Chief (Omanhen) of the Essikado (British Sekondi) Traditional Area in the Western Region, commended the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah–Kofi Buahfor taking the initiative to engage the Chiefs on the plans outlined by the government in the fight against illegal mining.

In an open forum, some of the chiefs registered their reservations about land issues, mining regulations and others confronting their respective sub-sectors.

The chiefs further appealed to the Lands and Natural ResourcesMinister to ensure that the works of the Operation Recover All Loot committee extend to land issues in the region, and indicated their readiness to help him succeed, as his success would be a significant victory for the Western Region.

The Minister thanked the chiefs and promised to address their concerns and engage them periodically on issues pertaining to his Ministry and government.

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