Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation has stated President John Dramani Mahama cannot just declare a state of emergency on illegal mining.
According to Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, one doesn’t just declare a state of emergency, he asserted that declaration should be done as a result of security briefing and advice you get.
Some Ghanaians have been calling on the Mahama government to declare a state of emergency and suspend all mining activities across Ghana over the growing threat of illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed stated, “What President John Dramani Mahama would do is that you don’t just declare a state of emergency. State of emergency declaration should be done as a result of security briefing and advice you get.
President John Dramani Mahama has actually engaged those clothed with the capacity security-wise, to advise him on these issues.
“President Mahama is engaging them and they are assessing the situation. If the conclusion of the security advice the president gets is that there should be a state of emergency, President Mahama will do that without blinking”, he added.
Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah the lands minister has stated illegal miners commonly known as galamseyers must be seen as dangerous terrorists who are killing us.
The Lands minister noted that a few people cannot be allowed to make money at the expense of killing millions of Ghanaians.
Speaking at a Press conference on Thursday, April 3, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah stated, “We can’t allow few people to make money at the expense of millions of Ghanaians and kill us, we must now begin to see them as dangerous terrorists who are killing us”.
“You cannot have a country where your water systems are so polluted that the turbidity levels are 5,000 to 12,000 when it should be 500, it means we are drinking poison,” he bemoaned.
He further added, “If anybody wants to do genuine small-scale mining, this government is committed to guiding them, giving them licenses, and guiding them on the path of doing small-scale mining in a more responsible and sustainable manner,” he said.
“This is what must be a collective fight”, he added.
The Lands minister further revealed government plans to fight galamsey, he stated government will begin geotagging and geofencing excavators imported into Ghana.
“We believe that this programme of geotagging and geofencing must be expanded to include excavators as soon as they arrive at the ports. It doesn’t make any sense that the third most valuable item we import into this country, worth 6.2 billion cedis, is excavators,”
“These machines are brought here to destroy our forest reserves, pollute our water bodies, and harm our people. This must stop,” he stated boldly.
