Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has claimed that illegal small-scale mining, widely known as galamsey, has effectively become a legitimate activity under the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
Mr Bentil made the assertion in a social media post on Thursday, June 19, while reacting to developments around Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462 — the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022.
The law has attracted criticism from environmentalists and civil society groups since its passage.
“L.I. 2462. What did I tell you? It won’t be repealed. Galamsey is now de facto legal,” he wrote.
His remarks come despite assurances from the government that the controversial law will be repealed.
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, who is also the NDC’s National Communications Officer, earlier disclosed that steps were being taken to revoke the law completely.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Wednesday, April 23, Mr Gyamfi explained that although the initial plan was to amend the regulation to strip the President of the power to grant mining leases in forest reserves, government had now decided to scrap the law in response to stakeholder concerns.
“L.I. 2462 will be revoked by the NDC-Mahama government immediately Parliament resumes,” he assured.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey has petitioned President Mahama to order investigations and possible prosecutions of some NDC officials accused of engaging in illegal mining.
The group named the NDC MP for Aowin, Oscar Ofori Larbi, along with party chairpersons in Axim and Dunkwa, as individuals suspected to be involved in galamsey.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, June 19, lead convener of the coalition, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, said the petition aligns with the President’s commitment to ensuring that no one is shielded in the fight against illegal mining.
