The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has called on the media to help in combating illegal mining (galamsey) in the country.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting with Editors in Accra on Monday, the minister said the media played a pivotal role in in combating illegal mining calling on the media to be active in "amplifying the government's efforts." The engagement which coincided with reports of an attack on Forestry Commission officers was aimed to clarify the complexities of illegal mining and rally media support to address the menace.
He further urged the media to remain vocal and objective in the fight against galamsey, saying: "the fight against galamsey should not be politicised." Providing a detailed overview of the galamsey situation inherited by the Mahama administration, Mr Buah revealed that upon taking office, nine forest reserves had already fallen under the complete control of illegal miners.
He also disclosed the alarming rate of which water bodies in the country were been polluted by the menace. "Turbidity levels in water treated by the Ghana Water Limited ranged between 5,000 and 12,000 NTU, more than 10 times the permissible point (500 NTU) for water treatment," he noted. "The scale of land degradation is equally staggering as illegal mining consumes an area equivalent to 7,500 football fields," he added.
