THE National Security Council will from next year get tough with foreigners engaged in galamsey operation in the Western Region and other parts of the country.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Aryeety, who said this during a tour of the Western Region, observed that galamsey activities tended to pollute water bodies and the environment, thereby endangering the lives of the people.
She warned foreigners not to take the country’s hospitality for granted and flout the laws of the country which prohibited them from engaging in small-scale mining.
Ms Aryeetey said following visits by officials of her ministry to the areas where foreigners were engaging in illegal mining activities with the connivance of some community members, the ministry had submitted a report to the National Security Council.
She said a national security committee, formed to deal with illegal mining by foreigners and other issues of environmental degradation, had been strategising on how to tackle the problem.
Ms Aryeetey said the recent arrest of some foreigners flouting the laws of the country by the Ghana Immigration Service was a clear indication that those engaged in illegal mining would be flushed out by the security.
“One thing foreigners need to know is that we cannot go to their country and act contrary to their laws; therefore, we will not allow our laws to be flouted,” she said.
She said if foreigners had to engage in illegal activities at the expense of the environment and communities, they must be stopped.
Ms Aryeetey said the ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as an independent observer, would not operate from their offices, but move to the ground to ensure that the country’s laws were adhered to.
The minister later toured the resettlement and the plant site of the Adamus Resources Limited, operators of Nzema Gold Mines.
No comments:
Post a Comment