Ashigbey argues that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, which has struggled to manage the crisis from the beginning, is now beyond its capacity to resolve the issue effectively.
His comments came in response to Samuel Abu Jinapor’s recent announcement of the ministry’s new measures and strategies to combat the problem.
While acknowledging the efforts of the minister, Ashigbey believes that the situation has escalated to a level where only presidential intervention can provide a decisive solution.
“At this point because we are in a crisis, I think the thing is gone beyond the minister for lands and natural resources. It needs the president himself to act on the challenges that is facing us to be able to deal decisively,” he said on Thursday.
He emphasized that in similar global crises, strong and immediate actions are taken, and he urged the President to address the nation with the same urgency and commitment as he did during the pandemic.
Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, the Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey (MCAG), is urging the media and civil society groups to exert pressure on leaders to ensure the prosecution of the directors of Akonta Mining Limited.
According to Dr. Ashigbey, the directors of Akonta Mining Limited have caused significant destruction to water bodies and land within their operational area, making their prosecution long overdue.
To address this issue, he is calling on civil society organizations and the media to launch a robust advocacy campaign to ensure that the directors of Akonta Mining Limited face legal consequences for their actions.
On Thursday, June 8, 2023, the MCAG had a meeting with senior officials from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) to discuss the progress of the investigation into the mining activities of Akonta Mining Limited in the Tano Nmira Forest Reserves.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Dr. Ashigbey pointed out that “there was enough evidence that Akonta Mining had sinned against the Minerals Commission. Therefore, we were expecting that after this long period, some action would have been taken, and they would have been in court by now.”
“If you take our Constitution, sovereignty resides in the people. The same Constitution also gives the media the mandate to hold leadership to account. Citi FM and other media houses, you need to make sure that the Director General of CID, the Attorney General, and the judiciary ensure that the likes of the directors of Akonta Mining and other influential people, including Aisha Huang and Yaw Danso Bosome Freho, the former District Chief Executive, are brought to book.”
The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey posited that it would be meaningless for leaders to plant trees without safeguarding the existing forests.
“It is really important that leaders take action. Today, we are out there planting trees. For example, in the case of Akonta Mining, the number of trees that have been cut down from these forests is alarming. As much as we want to plant trees, we need to ensure that we safeguard our forests, cocoa, and not support this illegality. It is important that all of us, including civil society and the media, ensure that we get leaders to do what they ought to do,” Dr. Ashigbey asserted.
MCAG sent two petitions to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, in January 2023, to carry out swift investigations into the alleged illegal mining activities by Akonta Mining, which is owned by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako.
The MCAG said it was informed that investigations were ongoing, but the group expressed disappointment that the directors of Akonta Mining Limited had not yet been prosecuted, despite the clear evidence of their alleged wrongdoing.
The Media Coalition Against Galamsey(MCAG) has expressed frustration over what they perceive to be a lack of progress in the prosecution of the Akonta Mining Limited directors.
MCAG sent two petitions to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare in January 2023, to carry out swift investigations into the alleged illegal mining activities by Akonta Mining owned by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako.
MCAG in a statement said its team met with senior officials of the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) on Thursday, June 8, 2023, to discuss the progress of the investigation into Akonta Mining Limited’s mining activities in the Tano Nmira Forest Reserves.
The MCAG in the statement said it was informed that investigations were ongoing, but the group expressed disappointment that the directors of Akonta Mining Limited had not yet been prosecuted, despite the clear evidence of their alleged wrongdoing.
MCAG thus called on the CID to expedite the prosecution of the directors of the company to ensure that they are brought to justice.
“It was made known during the meeting that investigations were ongoing into the activities of Akonta Mining Limited. The delegation from the MCAG was appreciative of the work being carried out by the CID. We, however, expressed our frustration at the seeming lack of action in the prosecution of the director(s) of Akonta Mining Ltd, in the face of clear evidence (including what we added to our petition and statement to the Police) of they having breached the Minerals & Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and prayed that the needed urgency be applied for the speedy prosecution of the director(s) of Akonta Mining Ltd since there was ample evidence available for their prosecution,” the group added in a statement.
The MCAG has also called on all well-meaning Ghanaiansto join in the fight against illegal mining.
“There is and can be no conceivable justification for illegal mining to continue in Ghana,” said the MCAG in a statement.
“We urge all Ghanaians to join us in the fight to save our water bodies and preserve our environment for current and future generations.”
Illegal mining is a major environmental and economic problem in Ghana. It has led to the destruction of water bodies, the displacement of people, and the loss of biodiversity.
The MCAG is a coalition of media organizations that are committed to fighting illegal mining in Ghana.
MCAG has been at the forefront of the campaign to raise awareness of the problem and to hold those responsible to account.
The Media Coalition Against Galamsey has called on the Government to order small scale and surface mining activities to stop immediately to allow water bodies and forests to begin to restore.
The government is also encouraged to bring sanity to all surface mining activities in the country.
The Coalition in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, also admonished government to ensure that the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended, was enforced without fear or favour.
“Powerful people involved in Galamsey activities in the country should be exposed and sanctioned to serve as a deterrent.
“Arrest, investigate and prosecute everyone involved in the illegality, including the Akonta Mining Ltd and its Directors, Bernard Boasiako and Kwame Antwi, for illegally mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve as well as breaching (Section 99(6) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by mining very close along the banks of Tano River,” it said.
The Coalition also encouraged the government to sack any Municipal Chief Executive or District Chief Executive in whose areas of jurisdiction illegal mining had taken place and was still ongoing.
The government was also entreated to sack ministers and their deputies who had a responsibility to regulate the mining sector but had failed and explore the provision of gainful, alternative employment to persons engaged in ‘galamsey’.
The Coalition also urged the government to ensure that the above punitive measures were implemented before Farmers’ Day this year as such activities directly impacted adversely the efforts of farmers.
The Coalition according to the statement had studied the ‘galamsey’ phenomenon from all possible viewpoints and had concluded that there was and could be no conceivable justification for illegal mining to continue in the country.
It observed that the government and other relevant stakeholders had not demonstrated enough commitment and leadership towards the fight against illegal mining activities.
“We are currently in a worse situation than when we started. For example, the annual average turbidity levels at the Daboase headworks on the Pra river has worsened from 1,180 in 2020, 2,588 in 2021 and 2634 in 2022.
“In view of this, the Media Coalition Against Galamsey believes that urgent and radical measures need to be adopted by government that will result in positive change of the state of our water bodies and preservation of our environment for our survival and that of the future generation,” the statement said.
The Coalition also called on well-meaning Ghanaians and Civil Society Organisations to join hands with the media to help mount continued pressure on the nation’s leaders, both political and traditional to help save Ghana’s water bodies and preserve her environment for future generations.
“Losing this war is not an option. Irresponsible and unsustainable mining is an existential threat and should not be countenanced,” it added.
The Media Coalition Against Galamsey is made up of all media organisations in Ghana – public and private electronic and print media.
