There should be complete prohibition of mining in forest reserves – Kofi Bentil
According to Kofi Bentil, vice president of IMANI-Africa, the government shouldn’t implement the legislation governing responsible mining. In his opinion, an outright ban is necessary to stop illicit miners from devastating the forest reserves. “There is nothing called responsible mining in a forest reserve, those words must never be put together,” he said on JoyNews’…
According to Kofi Bentil, vice president of IMANI-Africa, the government shouldn’t implement the legislation governing responsible mining.
In his opinion, an outright ban is necessary to stop illicit miners from devastating the forest reserves.
“There is nothing called responsible mining in a forest reserve, those words must never be put together,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday.
Mr. Bentil disagreed with the idea of “responsible mining” inside forest reserves, claiming that these regulations are designed to make it easier to exploit these natural regions.
He emphasized the differences between a forest and a mine, stressing that a forest reserve should continue to be a forest and not be subject to mining operations.
“They shouldn’t amend that law, they should delete it. It is there to facilitate things like mining in Kakum National Park and if we leave it there, one day we will wake up and Kakum has been mined,” he stressed.
The Vice President of IMANI-Africa strongly said that changing the legislation is not enough; it should be completely repealed.
He urged the government to act decisively, arguing that the concept of ethical mining is unrealistic in the setting of forest reserves.
Mr. Bentil continued by highlighting how important it is to keep these reserves intact and cautioning that if the law is not repealed, the nation’s natural heritage may suffer irreversible harm.
He believed that the integrity of the country’s natural resources and the welfare of the people should not be sacrificed in the sake of mining profit.
