The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Dr. Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey has called on Parliament to pass legislation prohibiting the issuance of mining permits in forest reserves.
This comes at the back of the opposition by several civil society organizations (CSOs) to an attempt by a mining firm, High Street Mining Company Limited, to conduct mining activities in the Kakum National Park in the Central Region.
Speaking at the commemoration of International Human Rights Day 2023 organized by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice under the theme, “The 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Implications for Human Rights Protection in Ghana,” Dr. Ashigbe emphasized that the protection of the environment impacts the well-being of people hence the need for Ghanaians to take the current socio-ecological situation in Ghana seriously.
“Environmental rights in particular are extrinsically linked to human rights, as the protection of the environment directly impacts the well-being and livelihoods of individuals in the community. It is on the back of this that we should take the current socio-ecological terrorism that is being waged on Ghanaians through the sketch of galamsey (illegal mining), very seriously. On the back of that, we call on Parliament as a matter of urgency to pass the Act that explicitly forbids the grant of any mining or drilling permits, licenses or leases, or any other associated activities of forest reserves and significant biodiversity areas.”
To address this issue, Dr. Ashigbey asserted that, “this will mean revoking the so-called Environmental Protection, Mining in Forest Reserves Regulation, LI 2462 and the power it gives to the president to give written approval to the mining companies to undertake mining activities in the globally significant bio-diversity area.”
He emphasized the crucial need to eliminate the president’s authority to approve mining in forest reserves.
According to him, “we should not be putting the power to determine what is a national interest in the hands of one individual, especially when it has to do with globally significant bio-diversity areas that will make people want to apply that the Kakum Park should be given to them to mine.”