Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has reaffirmed government’s resolve to end illegal mining otherwise known as “galamsey” in forest reserves and in water bodies.
The Vice President said new measures are being put in place including a “bill being prepared” to ban illegal mining in forest reserves.
She made this statement when she met with the Ghanaian community in Belgium made up of chiefs, elders, representatives of the youth, and members of the Ghana Council.
"We are trying to ban mining in water bodies. We've been mining gold forever, how come suddenly all our waters were polluted.
The sources of water are typically within our reserved lands and that is the reason we have reserved those lands as reserved forests. If you give that to someone who can even leave it to his heirs, how do you stop that source from polluting the river to several places," she said.
The meeting was part of her official visit to Brussels for the 2025 Global Gateway Forum.
At the meeting, Vice President Opoku-Agyemang thanked the Ghanaian community for their unwavering support and contributions to national development.
Food safety issues, import duty charges, indiscipline among youths, labor export, and illegal mining were some of the concerns raised. She listed government interventions like the Adwumawura Programme and the 24-Hour Economy Policy, which are designed to expand the base of employment opportunities both domestically and for Ghanaians in the diaspora.
She also urged parents to portray Ghana in a positive manner to their wards abroad and requested the youth to be disciplined and envision their future.
The Deputy Foreign Minister, James Gyakye Quayson, said that government is revisiting some 2,167 licenses that had been granted to individuals to mine over the past 8 years.
"Between 1988 and 2016, 88 licenses were issued for mining but between 2017 and 2024 alone, 2,167 licenses were issued," he stated, adding, prosecutions will be pursued against some individuals.
The Deputy Minister requested the diasporans to be patient with government assuring them that "the water bodies will be restored gradually."
The Vice President's meeting with the Ghanaian community in Belgium is a sign of the government's attempt to reach out to its diaspora and engage in national development.
