The Executive Director in charge of mining at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Engineer Michael Ali has stated categorically that there is no law in Ghana that allows individuals to mine on water bodies.
According to him, mining on water bodies is prohibited and illegal and all those who are mining on water bodies are doing it illegally.
In an interview with Happy Kasiɛbɔ on the second day of EPA’s activities to create awareness about the urgent need for a national shift of mindset and behavior towards environmental preservation said there are a lot of laws to protect the environment especially for mining on water bodies but the biggest challenge for the nation is enforcement of the law.
The EPA outlined a lot of activities put in place after they launched the 2024 Climate change week on October 14, 2024 which is expected to end on October 18, 2024.
One of the activities includes public procession which was held today, Tuesday, October 15th 2024.
During the public procession in the principal streets of Accra, the Engineer stated that since the activities of illegal mining are not backed by law, the operators have armed themselves with sophisticated weapons which makes it difficult to apprehend them without proper measures and strategies.
He said it is the responsibility for every Ghanaian to report to any of the security agencies to take further action against those mining on river bodies because it is a National Security matter.
He expressed optimism that at the end of this 2024 climate change week, Ghanaians will change their mindset and see it as a collective effort to protect the environment.