The Savannah Regional Minister, Hon. Mauzu Jibril has assured the youth in the Region plans of Government to regulate the activities of illegal mining activities in the Region and the country as a whole.
Delivering a speech during the Savannah Regional Environmental Consultative Forum held on Wednesday, 21st April, 2021 in Damango, the Minister said “Nobody is going to chase our young men away in illegal gold mining (galamsey) but they must do it in a proper manner and we are registering them as community miners for free.”
He noted that there will be a concession on the activities of mining and individuals shall be registered within the Region as small scale miners/community miners in order to fish out those who are or will be engaging in the activity illegally following EPA regulations.
The Minister disclosed that there shall be a stakeholder consultation between Government representatives, Traditional leaders of galamsey prone areas and individuals engaging in the activity in the Region to see the way forward.
The vice President of the Gonja Traditional Council and the Paramount Chief of the Buipe Traditional Area, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor (||) who delivered a speech on behalf of the overlord and President of the Gonja Traditional Council Yagbon WuraTuntumba Sulemana Japka Boresah (|) denounced the activities of illegal gold mining popularly known as galamsay, illegal Rosewood logging and the burning of charcoal for commercial purposes in the Region.
“It is sad and undescribable on how the vegetation cover of the hard earned kingdom is mishandled especially in matters of illegal logging of Rosewood and declared commercial charcoal burning activities in the Kingdom”, he bemoaned.
“Our own lands are being destroyed, the colour of our water bodies keep changing.
The depletion of the ozone layer to rainstorms to all manner of environmental hazards are some of the effects of these unapproved activities”, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor (|) indicated.
Buipewura noted that environmental degradation is as a result of human activities and posterity will judge them if they the traditional leaders, politicians, citizens and other stakeholders
of the Region failed to curtail the menace.
He therefore called on the paramount chiefs, politicians and key stakeholders in the Region to as a matter of urgency to join hands with the Traditional council and government agencies to fight illegal mining activities, illegal Rosewood logging and the burning of charcoal for commercial purposes.
Speaking on security related issues at the Consultative Forum,The Savannah Regional Police Commander, DCOP Enoch Adutwum Bediako, said fighting crime was a shared responsibility and called for effective stakeholder collaboration with the Traditional leaders to cut down the rate of crime to the barest minimum in the Region.
He said the police was not an Island and so could not single-handedly fight to eliminate crime without the necessary stakeholder collaboration especially the Traditional leaders.
The Police Commander said the role of the Traditional leaders in fighting crime was very enormous especially with the issue of the Fulani herdsmen which the Commander said it’s important to know the number of Fulani herdsmen and their place of abode in the Region such that they can be easily traced and identified.
He said there was the need for the police to collaborate with the Gonja Traditional Council to help them fight crime in Region as in the cases of armed robbery and murder.
He however, commended the efforts of Buipewura and his Emminent Chiefs for resolving some chieftaincy disputes in the Region.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Abdul Fataw Diwura
