Mr Martin Kpebu
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has said that the Police should be allowed to fully handle the illegal mining (Galamsey) menace.
He is not in support of the involvement of the Military. Kpebu expressed the confidence that the Police have the capacity to deal with this matter.
“Let us exhaust the law. The Police can do the work. Under the law, currently, the Police can help; they are allowed to go and stop the galamseyer, and the president says that after they will have a prominent presence,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, September 20.
Kpebu further agreed with the position taken by President John Dramani Mahama on the call to declare a state of emergency in the areas affected by illegal mining.
He wondered what exactly a state of emergency would do to the problem that cannot be addressed in the absence of a state of emergency.
“What is it that we can’t do now, but only a state of emergency will allow us to do? A declaration of a state of emergency is a paper; it is not a magic wand. You will still need the police to enforce it,” he added.
He added, “Under the law, currently, the Police can help; they are allowed to go and stop the galamseyer, and the president says that after that they [Police] will have a prominent presence in the forest.”
President John Dramani Mahama has said that he has been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because they have not exhausted the powers to tackle illegal mining.
He said this at the media encounter in Accra on Wednesday, September 10.
“I’ve been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because we’ve not exhausted the powers we even have without a state of emergency,” he explained.
He stressed that government agencies already have the mandate to arrest offenders, seize equipment, and enforce forest protection laws.
“We have the opportunity to arrest anybody, to confiscate any such thing. The laws for forest protection and all that give us enough powers to be able to act,” he said.
President Mahama further stated that since assuming office, his government has not issued any license to allow mining in the country’s forest reserves.
He said plans are underway to repeal L.I. 2462, which allows mining in forest reserves.
“Steps are currently underway to repeal L.I. 2462 to formalize our commitment to end mining in forest reserves. Let me be clear, since my administration resumed office not a single license has been issued to any company to mine in our forest reserves,” the President stated.
According to the President, the repeal of L.I.2462 is will demonstrate in practice his government’s commitment to protect these forest reserves.
The Acting Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah (MP), has officially written to the Office of the Attorney General for the immediate revocation of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462 and its amended version, L.I. 2501.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Ministry on August 29, 2025 and signed by Ama Mawusi Mawuenyefia.
The statement noted that this legal action is designed to unify and strengthen the regulatory framework, creating a cohesive front for all stakeholders in the national fight against illegal mining, known as ‘galamsey.’
The move aims to end the severe environmental devastation that has polluted Ghana’s water bodies and degraded its forest reserves.
The Minister expressed confidence that the existing regulatory regime, under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides robust and sufficient guidelines to oversee all mining activities.
This consolidated framework will ensure strict compliance with environmental and social standards, guaranteeing responsible mining practices across the sector.
The move directly complements on-the-ground efforts such as the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) and the operational coordination of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
L.I. 2462 was enacted to regulate the environmental aspects of mining in forest reserves, deriving its authority from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act.
It established a system for granting mining licenses and environmental permits within forest reserves, with specific conditions to mitigate damage.
The regulations prohibited mining in certain sensitive ecological and cultural sites, including “Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas” (GSBAs), but granted the President the authority to approve mining in these restricted areas if deemed to be in the “national interest.”
The Legislative Instrument was met with immediate and widespread backlash from civil society organizations, environmental activists, and concerned citizens who say the L.I. has allowed for more environmental destruction and lacked the ability to protect the forest reserves.
In October 2024, the then Attorney-General initiated the process to revoke L.I. 2462 by laying a new legislative instrument before Parliament.
This new instrument, the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) (Revocation) Instrument, 2024 which intended to make all mining in forest reserves illegal.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
