President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sought to assure the entire nation that the all the forest reserves in the country are being protected against illegal mining activities (Galamsey) with his comment that Akonta Mining is not engaged in galamsey, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has said.
Reacting to concerns that the President may be shielding the company, Mr Jinapor told journalists in Accra that “First of all, I think it is absolutely important that we appreciate that the President was responding to a request by the Chairman of this Public Diocesan Priest Association Biennial conference Mr Ken Ashigbey. Mr Ashiebey in his remarks had appealed to the President to speak to the issue of Akonta Mining, and so, the President sought to respond and assure the conference and for that matter the country. So the President’s comments were actually an assurance to the conference and the country. What was that assurance?
“The president said, as he spoke, Akonta Mining was not engaged in any illegal mining activities in any forest reserve and indeed, the President went further to assure the country that under his instruction, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Forestry Commission has actually cordoned off the 294 forest reserves in our country, he said that as well but for some reason, that has been taken out of the discourse.
“But the president gave further assurance that not only is Akonta Mining not engaged in illegal mining activities in any forest reserve as he spoke, but additionally, he had put in place measures to protect the 294 forest reserves in our country from attacks from illegal miners. So the President was not speaking about the wrong doing or otherwise of Akonta Mining in the past, the criminality of Akonta Mining or otherwise in the past, he was not commenting on what happened in the past, he was giving an assurance of the state of affairs as at the time he was addressing the conference, that is a statement of fact.
“For me, I think the President should be commended , the government should be commended that we have got to a situation where we can confidently say we are protecting ting the Forest reserve of our country, that is essentially what the President said.”