Suspension of mineral prospecting: Minister’s directive was half-hearted – Inusah Fuseini

Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini, has said that the directive from the current Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor for the cessation of mineral prospecting in forest reserve was half-hearted.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor suspended the reconnaissance and prospecting in forest reserves and subsequently gave persons and companies involved seven days to cease operations and evacuate their equipment.

However, Inusah Fuseini believes that the Minister has not gone all out in fighting this menace.

He told Happy FM’s Don Prah on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show: “The Minister’s directive is half-hearted. The Minister has the power under the lands and mining act 703 to determine which areas should not be mined at all. Secondly, mining cannot take place at a place that is specifically reserved under the law. So, forest reserve cannot be a place for mining. You cannot do mining on water bodies or within 100m to the bank of a river. the laws are there”.

The former MP for Tamale Central advised that the Minister “go all out and declare reconnaissance and prospecting in forest reserves as an illegal activity and cause an investigation into the circumstances under which those people were given permit”.

“If we want to end illegal mining, we have to fight it inwardly and outwardly”, he added.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Directive issued the directive to cease all reconnaissance and prospecting activities in the forest reserves after a recent call by all stakeholders at a two-day National Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining by government to rigidly apply sanctions on all those who break the law on small scale mining.