AFRICA.Ghana: To check illegal mining activities around lakes in Ghana, the government says it has procured five new patrol boats, according to Samuel Abu Jinapor, minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
Giving further details, the minister said the boats would be deployed on to rivers Ankobra and Pra in the Western Region. Also to Birmin river in the Eastern Region and the Black Volta in the Savannah Region by the end of August.
“As a more lasting solution to the pollution of our river bodies, I am happy to announce that the ministry has procured five patrol boats which will be used by the security services to patrol and protect our rivers,” said Jinapor.
Jinapor stated this during a bi-weekly Minister’s Briefing organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday. According to him, illegal mining would be contained using two major approaches namely; law enforcement and reformation of the sector.
On law enforcement, Jinapor stated that relevant stakeholders in the sector have been engaged and it has been agreed that “All 16 regional ministers and their respective coordinating councils lead law enforcement in their respective districts.”
He added, “Forest guards of the Forestry Commission have been working with the relevant security agencies to enforce this ban, and Operation Halt II supports them from time to time.“
Further, he elaborated, “In accordance with Section 92 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), we have established Small Scale Mining Committees in the various mining districts, to assist the District Offices of the Minerals Commission to effectively monitor, promote and develop mining operations in their jurisdictions.”
Jinapor also stated that so far, 70 of these committees had been inaugurated in the various mining districts, and 13 more in the Savannah, North East, Upper West and Upper East regions, were due to be inaugurated today, in Bolgatanga.
“We have, also, placed a ban on the manufacture and sale of the floating platform, popularly referred to as “Changfan”, and we are in the process of amending Act 703 to expand, legally, the scope of this ban,” he noted.
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