Sand Winners have no permit

Accra Sept. 26, GNA - A research conducted last year has indicated that 90 per cent of sand winning activities in the Greater Accra Region are illegal.

Nana Andor, Director in-charge of Mining at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Wednesday some people, who obtain the permits for a year to operate on a two-acre land used them for more than three to five years.

According to him, some of the contractors use the same permits to win sand in other areas where the law did not permit them. Speaking at a dialogue on sand and stone winning permit and its effects on the private sector in Accra, Nana Andor also lamented over the behaviour of some sand contractors who failed provide reclamation on the plots of land used for sand winning.

The dialogue organised by the Association of Sand and Stone, GPRTU and PROTOA, aimed at addressing difficulties of obtaining sand and winning permits in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. Members said they had to travel to Accra to obtain those permits therefore called for the decentralisation of the permits. The Director in charge of Mining said the agency had not provided any permit to individual to win sand along the beaches adding the law did not permit that.

He was dissatisfied with the way some district assemblies were thwarting the efforts of the agency, alleging that some contractors' pay 10 to 15 million cedis under the pretext of reclaiming the lands used. He decried the behaviour of some sand contractors who arm themselves at dawn to embark on illegal sand winning. Nana Andor said it would be difficult for EPA with 400 staff strength to control such activities.

To address the issue, Nana Andor suggested that the Geological Department should demarcate areas where sand could be mined to enable the staff to apprehend illegal operators who go about winning sand in unauthorised areas. He also appealed to the public to report activities of the illegal sand winning contractors to the EPA because environmental issues concerned. Nana Andor urged them to desist from conniving with illegal sand and stone contractors.

Mr Peter Kwame Donkor, Chairman of the Association appealed to the Ministries of Land, Forestry and Mines and Local Government and Rural Development to decentralise permits for sand and stone winning contractors to reduce the delays in obtaining them. The Association presented proposals on the decentralisation of the permit to the representatives of the Mineral Commission, EPA and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. 26 Sept. 07