You can’t be a miner in govt - President Mahama to appointees

28-03-2025

You can’t be a miner in govt - President Mahama to appointees

President John Dramani Mahama has directed that no government appointee should engage in any form of legal or illegal mining. 

"If you want to be a miner, leave the government and be a miner, you can't be in government and be a miner at the same time," President Mahama declared.

He said the government’s commitment to afforestation must be accompanied by strict environmental law enforcement, adding, “This is why under my administration, we would sustain the fight against illegal mining or galamsey.”

President Mahama was speaking at the launch of the "Tree For Life Reforestation Initiative" at the Kufuor Park at Nkawie in the Ashanti Region last Friday.

The project, one of two initiatives the government is relying on to fight the canker of illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, seeks to embark on transformational landscape restoration efforts.

It will heal and harness the environment by turning areas heavily degraded by illegal mining and other drivers of deforestation and forest degradation into ecologically functional landscapes.

The Tree For Life Reforestation Initiative aims at promoting sustainable forest management, conservation and reforestation to address the issues of biodiversity loss, pollution of water bodies, climate change and environmental degradation which pose existential threats to the country.

The launch was attended by government officials, traditional leaders, students and the people of Nkawie in the Atwima Nwabiagya South District in the Ashanti Region.

Among the dignitaries were the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, and the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr Abebe Haile-Gabriel.

The occasion coincided with this year's International Day of Forest (1D1F), which is observed on March 21 every year.
President Mahama planted a commemorative tree to launch the Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative at Nkawie in the Ashanti Region.

The President said along with the fight against illegal mining, the government would do the difficult thing of reclaiming degraded lands, hence the Tree for Life Initiative.

President Mahama stated that a pilot project undertaken by a private group had successfully retrieved 16 hectares (39.53 acres) of land, adding that the intention was to scale that up to 500 acres or 202.343 hectares of reclaimed lands in a year.

The Tree For Life Reforestation Initiative, President Mahama said, aligned with national and international commitments which complemented the government's Blue Water Initiative.

Click here to read more

GNBCC | News