President John Dramani Mahama has declared mining in Ghana’s forest reserves will be banned permanently.
It will be recalled John Mahama during his campaign promised to scrap LI 2462 but has now rather sought to amend it which has sparked a strong stance from environmental advocates and civil society organisations, who have voiced disappointment over the Mahama administration’s decision.
Speaking on the progress of his administration’s first 120 days, President Mahama stated, “The first 120 days, we’ve taken decisive action through a five-point strategy to overhaul and sanitise the mining sector. This includes regulatory reforms and strengthening law enforcement, including joint task forces, arrest and seizure of mining equipment, stakeholder collaboration, and reclamation of degraded lands.
“Seven out of nine reserves have been reclaimed, and illegal miners have been flushed out of these forest reserves,” Mahama said.
He added, “Concerning the ban on mining in forest reserves, on March 20, 2025, a legislative instrument L.I. 2462 was presented to Parliament to amend the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation. This amendment removes the president’s power to approve mining in forest reserves”.
“I also plan to amend the Minerals and Mining Act, 2003 (Act 703) to completely prohibit mining in forest reserves. This would effectively, meticulously, legally, and entirely ban mining in our forest reserves,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has urged the government to roll out an excavator tracking system nationwide to help in the fight against galamsey.
Dr. Ken Ashigbey the Coalition’s Convenor stated, “These excavators are not mobile phones you can put in your pocket. With this tracking and all of that, the police will then be able to monitor its activities.
If your excavator is not meant for a particular activity, and you get to the barrier, the police should be able to tell based on the QR code that you have on your vehicle.
“So, we have everything that we need to deal with this terrorism that is going on. I think the major call to the minister and the CEO is to be able to scale this up,” he stated.
