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Samuel Abu Jinapor said no company or individual will be allowed to go near the forests or river bodies to mine.
The move is geared towards clamping down on illegal mining and other land degrading activities in the forests.
The Minister said this when he visited the Daboase Waterworks Treatment Plant of the Ghana Water Company in the Western Region.
“Since I became a minister, I have issued a directive to the Forestry Commission to no longer issue permit for mining in the forest,” Mr. Abu Jinapor said, as quoted by Classfmonline.
“It will mean that no one can walk into any forest to mine. Forests and river bodies are red lines no one should cross.”
In 2017, the Akufo-Addo government waged a war on illegal mining activities, locally known as galamsey, and placed a temporal ban on small-scale mining.
The Operation Vanguard taskforce was subsequently set up to guard the various illegal mining sites.
The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation later set up a Galamstop taskforce to support the Operation Vanguard team in fighting illegal mining.
However, recent reports indicate that illegal mining activities are still ongoing in some parts of the country.
The Lands Minister said the government is bent on ensuring all river bodies and forests are protected and will not spare anyone caught engaging in illegal mining activities.