Communication Team Member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Amaning is urging the government to ensure greater involvement of Chiefs in the fight against illegal mining.
He says the seeming neglect of chiefs in the fight may have resulted in its failure in the past hence the need to do things differently.
He says Chiefs must be made to play a role in the fight against galamsey.
Paul Amaning said chiefs must also be involved in the process of issuance of mining permits, adding that the failure to get chiefs involved in such processes, forces them to get involved in the illegal mining instead, hence jeopardizing the fight.
He said chiefs must also be involved in the process of issuance of mining permits, adding that the failure to get chiefs involved in such processes, forces them to get involved in the illegal mining instead, hence jeopardizing the fight.
“The constitution even says all minerals are vested in the president, but we know that the gold is vested in the soil and the local chief is in charge of the soil. A stranger can be given a permit to mine on the chief’s land but the maps and licence for mining are given in Accra. Because the chiefs are not involved, they also join in the galamsey. If the chief is involved in the process, this will not happen,” he told Susubiribi TV.
Source: Richard Obeng Bediako
