South Dayi Member of Parliament Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor has suggested that the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should own helicopters to enable them to go around the galamsey areas as part of the fight against the menace.
He made this suggestion after telling the Minerals Commission to act against the degradation of the environment by illegal mining.
The member of the Assurances Committee of Parliament stated that as the body mandated by law to act, it is their duty to collaborate with the Police and the army to ensure that the illegal miners are flushed out from the water bodies and the forests. "It is your duty to ensure that operations of the people you haven't licensed are stopped, "he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, October 12. "It is your duty as mandated by the law to ensure the environment is not degraded, It appears that under existing legislation, the Minerals Commission and the EPA they are refusing to invoke their powers under the Law." "I am one who believes that the EPA, Minerals should own helicopters by now so that they move around," he said.
Earlier when he appeared before the Assurance Committee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Mr Martin Kwaku Ayisi said that small-scale mining is currently taking place in 13 regions in Ghana.