By Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese
The national conversation over the last couple of months has been on the illegal mining activities (galamsey) – an activity which can best be described as mass murder of innocent Ghanaians, including innocent fetus and newly born babies. It is quite evident that not even the attempted blame-shifting and agenda-setting can shift and share the blame with the National Democratic Congress.
Unfortunately, my Member of Parliament, Hon. Abu Jinapor, who doubles as the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources is in the centre of this conversation. His attempts to extricate himself by buying his way through the conversation, but that cannot and will not suffice. The law squarely places responsibility on the head of Hon. Abu Jinapor, the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources, and a delegate of the President, to act responsibly in safeguarding our lands and natural resources.
Instructively, Article 257 Sub-clause 6 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana clearly provides that all mineral resources in their natural state and upon any land in Ghana, including water resources, are the properties of the Republic of Ghana and shall vest in the President of Ghana for and on behalf of the people. By virtue of convention and standard practice, the President delegates his powers within the remit of this constitutional provision in his minister, and in this case, in the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
In the exercise of his powers, the Minister acts through an Act of Parliament – the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2006, (Act 703). Indeed, sections 4 and 5 and the adjoining sub-sections of this Act empowers the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to issue, deny or revoke mining licenses in whichever form. In order to effectuate the powers and regulate the sector as per the law, regulations in the form of Legislative Instruments and Executive Instruments are enacted for these purposes.
In view of the above, in November 2022, the Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 was enacted, deriving its force from the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490). The LI, “Environmental Protection (Mining in forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2462) allows for the Minister to grant mining concessions in forest reserves.
Meanwhile, prior to the enactment of this LI, the National Land Policy of 1999, prohibited mining in forest reserves especially, those reserves which were protected for ecosystem maintenance, biodiversity conservation and sustainable timber production. Unfortunately, due to political expediency, the formulation and subsequent enactment of this L.I. did not follow the usual trend of comprehensive consultation with key stakeholders like Civil Society Organizations and community-based stakeholders.
Under the L.I. 2462, mining licenses may be granted in forest reserves. Indeed, a multi-tiered permit regime is structured by this L.I. This include a forestry entry permit from the Forestry Commission (under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources); mineral rights from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (signed and granted by the Minister, Abu Jinapor); and water use permit from the Water Resources Commission.
Effectively, regulation 2 under this L.I. 2462 elucidates the rationale behind its enactment. This encompasses the management of mining in forest reserves, efficient use of natural resources, stakeholder involvement in mining issues in forest reserves, effective mineral royalties’ administration and maximizing benefits for the local community from mining in forest reserves. And to think that this L.I. 2462 was even contemplated at the time galamsey and the pollution of our water bodies are at their apogee is the most disgusting.
Well, after covertly setting up the conspiracy clothed in a legal framework (LI 2462) to legitimize the illegitimate, the political convenience and the twists then sets in. Incontrovertible sources, thus, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN); The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the World Conservation Monitoring (WCM); The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the Ghana Mining Repository (2023) – Abu Jinapor, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has, after the enactment of this L.I. in November 2022, issued 30 mining licenses for mining in forest reserves (protected areas). According to these sources, additional 1,350 mining concessions (outside of the protected areas) were granted, bringing the total to 1,380.
Subsequent to this, a report by the Ghana Institute of Foresters revealed that, at least 390,000 hectares of Ghana’s forest cover, covering a little above the landmarks of the Greater Accra Region, risk being wiped out as a result of the enactment of L.I. 2462. These include the protected areas, areas mapped as green belts and Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs).
Flowing from the above incontrovertible facts as provided by these credible sources, the Fourth Estate reported on 5th September, 2024 that appointees and politically exposed persons were among those who benefitted from the 30 mining licenses issued for mining in forest reserves (protected areas). Some of these companies associated to appointees and politically exposed persons granted mining licenses in 2023 include:
1. Sam and Gyan Limited – a company traceable to Hon. Sam Pyne, President Akuffo-Addo’s appointee for the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has been issued a mining concession to mine in the Oda River Forest Reserve, located in the Ashanti Region.
2. Elite Minerals Ghana Limited – a company which is allegedly tied to the daughters of President Akuffo-Addo as beneficial owners or with associated interest. This company has concession in the Bonsa River Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
3. Nana Ansah Resources Limited – mining concession to mine gold in Mamiri Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
4. Clean-Jobs Resources Limited – a mining concession to mine in the Tano Anwia Forest Reserve in the Western region of Ghana.
5. Unipower Mining Company Limited – a mining concession to mine in the Boin Tano Forest Reserve in the Western Region of Ghana.
Sadly, fresh reports have it that, after the expose’ by the Fourth Estate, these data have since been expunged from the records of the Minerals Commission.
Aside from legitimizing the illegitimate through a legal framework, there is another angle to this genocide being perpetrated by the government and its associates. According to the Fourth Estate, just a month after the L.I. 2462 was gazetted, in August 25, 2022, Akonta Mining, a company with Bernard Boasiako a.k.a Chairman Wontumi as one of the two shareholders, applied for a mining concession to mine in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve. After evaluation, the Minerals Commission transmitted the application to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Abu Jinapor for approval. Even before he could approve and issue the license, Chairman Wontumi’s Akonta Mining moved to site to start mining operations. This was subsequently described by the Minister as illegal, albeit, President defended Chairman Wontumi and his Akonta Mining.
In the midst of this conversation, the troubling part is that, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources appears not worried – he is either dismissive or arrogantly snobbish. In the wake of the labour agitations, Hon. Abu Jinapor described the Organized Labour’s call for a moratorium on all mining activities as draconian. He further intimated that because mining is lucrative and has some economic value, we ought to pay off for its devastation on Ghana’s water bodies and forest reserves. In fact, Abu Jinapor and his NPP government cannot be tickled by the report from the Ghana Medical Association to the effect that cyanide and mercury are sometimes found in the placentas of pregnant women, and as a result babies are born deformed.
Ironically, while destroying these forest reserves and our water bodies, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its allied agency, Forestry Commission, are all over the place with that charade of annual tree planting. In view of this, our taxes are wasted annually on this exercise. In fact, this failed policy is used as a cover for donor support. A couple of days ago, I read in the news that Hon. Abu Jinapor, has, on behalf of the Government of Ghana, signed a letter of intent for a grant amounting to $30m with the government of the United Arab Emirates, for forest conservation and alternative livelihood program.
Reading from successive budgets since 2021 is even extremely nauseating. The amount of money that leaks through the so called community mining and the alternative livelihood program is mindboggling. So, the devastation is not only on our forest reserves and water bodies, it is heavily felt in our annual budgets as much.
I wake up every day hoping to hear the name of Damongo Constituency with pride and for the good reasons, only to get disappointed. The man who we elected to represent us in Parliament has become the default image on newspapers and on online portals for the bad reasons. If Hon. Abu Jinapor’s name is not mentioned for corruption-related matters, his picture will be attached to headlines associated to this genocide (galamsey) or other daily scandals under this government.
To worse scenario is that, the galamsey menace is exceedingly pronounced under him as the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources. And quite unfortunate is the fact that he has granted more mining licenses than all the ministers of Lands put together since the inception of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Well, power can trick the powerful to get an illusion that the shoulder of God is just closer to theirs. It may not hurt today, it may look flowery and taste good, but the consequences awaits us. Time is our greatest ally.
Shalom!!!
9th October, 2024.
