A Letter to Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor:You’ve got it wrong; Illegal miners don’t depend on LI2462 to enter forest reserves to mine
I must admit I am awed by the level of consistency you’ve shown in your advocacy for galamsey to be halted. You’ve harped on the existential threats posed by these illegal mining activities, hence your relentless efforts to get have galamsey stopped.
I have read a recent post you made in which you made this point: ‘Those who passed the LI 2462 to mine in the forest reserves, and gave out licenses to mine in them, now say that those who failed to repeal that LI are not fighting irresponsible mining enough because they failed to repeal the LI that we ourselves passed’
First, let us agree to disagree on the reasons for the passage of LI2462. Let us even assume without admitting that your anti-LI2462 advocacy is reasonable, same does not debar members of the opposition NPP from asking the government to repeal it.
Members of the NPP are not being hypocritical in our calls on the government to repeal LI2462 because it was a promise they made. President Mahama was categorical in his pledge to do away with that law. Having come to power and dilly-dallying with it, it’s not out of place to remind him to repeal it.
The goal is to see illegal mining activities halted, and the NDC, prior to the 2024 elections, made a promise to root out galamsey, and the repeal of the LI is seen by President John Mahama, to be one of the ways to end illegal mining. If same is being delayed unnecessarily, reminders from us to him ought not to be criminalized.
Counsel, you miss the whole point about this galamsey fight. It is the height of naivety on your part to think that repealing LI2462 will prevent illegal miners from entering forest reserves to rape the lands and all that are contained therein. Whether the law is repealed or not, people would find ways to enter these forests.
Galamsey is on our hands not because people had the right to engage in them. Nobody gave them the rights, licenses and permits to mine on our water bodies and causing destructions to them. In much the same way, they enter forest reserves to ply their illegal trade.
In effect, repealing this law does not in itself bring an end to galamsey or illegal mining. It may stop legitimate mining in our forest reserves, but until some drastic measures are adopted, illegal miners may lay claim to these forested lands.
As for us, we shall continue to remind President John Dramani Mahama to implement all the policies outlined in their 2024 manifesto which he said would lead to the fight against illegal mining activities being won. We would be failing in our duties if we sit on the fence when it comes to these calls.
P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.
