The Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency, and former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP has charged the John Mahama Government to keep its promise of banning all forms of mining in forest reserves in the country.
He said there are many people who voted for President John Dramani Mahama based on this promise, and the President must keep his part of the bargain by banning all forms of mining in Forest Reserves.
The Legislator made these comments during the vetting of the Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, on Monday, 27th January 2024.
In the lead-up to the General Elections, there were calls on the Government to ban all forms of mining in the forest reserves of the country. Hon. Jinapor who was then the sector Minister argued that there were large-scale mining companies like Newmont and AngloGold who have been mining responsibly and sustainably in our forest reserves for years and that a blanket ban on all forms of mining in forest reserves would not be feasible.
According to Mr. Jinapor, apart from the sustainability of the operations of these companies, they employ several Ghanaians and contribute significantly to the national economy.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), however, joined calls for the ban on all forms of mining in forest reserves and promised to do so if voted into power.
Speaking at a public lecture at the Christian Service University in Kumasi, on 20th June 2024, President Mahama said “I will ban all mining in forest reserves because I believe that many of the trees in the reserves, which are more than 700 years old, are more precious assets than any mineral that lies beneath them.”
President Mahama repeated this promise at an engagement with the Media in Accra on 7th July 2024, when he said “We are going to ban mining in forest reserves. As for that, it is non-negotiable.”
At the vetting of the Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources on Monday, Mr Jinapor asked Mr Armah-Buah whether the NDC would keep its promise of banning all forms of mining in forest reserves. Mr. Armah Buah in his answer, however, intimated that large-scale mining companies are not responsible for the destruction of the country’s forest reserves, suggesting that their operations may not be banned.
This prompted the former Minister to remind him that it was a promise made to the people of Ghana to secure their votes, and the President would have to honour that promise.
The Minister-designate, also, said he was unable to say whether the Government would declare a state of emergency, and that if given the nod he would assess the situation to see the next steps to be taken.
Mr. Armah Buah is expected to take over from Mr. Jinapor following his successful vetting.
