Mahama: We won’t countenance public officers engaged in small-scale mining

John
Dramani
Mahama,
the
flagbearer
of
the
National
Democratic
Congress
(NDC),
has
made
it
clear
that
his
administration
will
not
tolerate
any
involvement
of
public
officers
engaged
in
small-scale
mining.

Mahama
strongly
suggested
that
those
officers
who
wish
to
engage
in
such
activities
should
choose
between
that
sector
and
serving
in
his
administration.

This
statement
was
made
by
Mr
Mahama
during
a
media
encounter
in
Accra
on
Sunday.

“We
won’t
countenance
public
officers
engaged
in
small-scale
mining,”
he
declared.

In
addition
to
this,
the
former
President
also
announced
that
his
administration
would
implement
a
ban
on
mining
activities
within
forest
reserves.

Mahama
said
this
was
a
significant
step
towards
preserving
Ghana’s
rich
biodiversity
and
combating
the
adverse
effects
of
deforestation
and
habitat
loss.

Forest
reserves
in
Ghana
are
home
to
a
wide
variety
of
flora
and
fauna,
many
of
which
are
endangered.
Mining
activities
in
these
areas
pose
a
serious
threat
to
these
ecosystems.
The
proposed
ban
aims
to
protect
these
vital
habitats
and
promote
sustainable
practices
in
the
mining
sector.

Mr
Mahama
indicated
“We
will
ban
mining
in
forest
reserves.”