ER Minister cautions people against engaging in illegal mining

Mr. Emmanuel Victor Smith, the Eastern Regional Minister has cautioned people to guard against illegal mining to avoid further degradation of the land.

He advised those wishing to engage in small-scale mining to acquire license from the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency before they operate.

Mr. Smith gave the advice when he visited Kwabeng in the Atiwa District as part of his familiarization tour of the area at the weekend.

He said the use of earth moving equipment by illegal miners is unacceptable and advised those people involved to stop their operations else they would be arrested.

Mr. Smith urged residents of Kwabeng to be patriotic and help protect state property and pleaded with them to bear with the government as it takes measures to ensure that the Atiwa District gets its fair share of the national cake.

Osabarima Nana Kofi Adjei Twene, the Regent of Kwabeng and Dwantoahene of Akim Abuakwa Traditional Area, said due to the bad nature of roads in the area, most of their farm produce perished on the farms, thus making farming unattractive to the youth.

He said the chiefs in the area had provided 30 acres of land for the building of a district hospital.

Osabarima Adjei Twene assured that the chiefs and people of the area are ready to provide more land for development projects in the district.**