By Eric Appah Marfo
Accra, Jan. 27, GNA – Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for its significant progress in forest reclamation, land administration reforms and the fight against illegal mining.
She, therefore, assured the Ministry of the government’s full support to carry out its mandate.
“We have no doubt that you are up to the task. So, our job is to encourage you, to congratulate you for what you’ve done so far, and to encourage you even to do more.
“And to let you know that we trust what you are doing. To assure you that we have your back. We are there to support you every step of the way,” she said after a presentation by the Ministry.
The Vice President paid a working visit to the Ministry on Tuesday as part of her ongoing familiarisation tour of ministries, departments, and agencies.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang said the Ministry’s work directly affected the lives of all Ghanaians, adding that land and environmental management remained central to national survival.
“Whatever it is, whether you are flying or swimming, you are part of the land. So, whatever happens, we are in your hands,” she said.
She praised the Ministry’s five-pronged strategy to combat environmental degradation, particularly the reclamation of thousands of degraded hectares of forest reserves, describing the scale of destruction as “difficult to imagine”.
The Vice President underscored the importance of decentralisation, noting that bringing land administration services closer to communities would help address long-standing challenges.
“Decentralisation is not a joke. That is what solves problems at the basic level, where life begins.”
She urged the Ministry to ensure that women were given fair access to land banks, particularly for agricultural purposes, to enable them to contribute more meaningfully to the economy.
Earlier, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, presented a detailed account of interventions undertaken since he assumed office a year ago, describing the state of Ghana’s forests, lands and water bodies at the time as “alarming”.
He said Ghana had lost nearly 60 per cent of its forest cover over the past decades, with more than 5,500 hectares, equivalent to 8,000 football fields, severely degraded, particularly in the Ashanti, Western and Western North regions.
Nine forest reserves had become “red zones”, inaccessible due to the activities of armed illegal miners, he said.
To reverse the trend, Mr Buah said the Ministry adopted a comprehensive approach, including the Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative, which saw the planting of over 28 million seedlings in its first year, and the reclamation of hundreds of hectares of degraded land.
He said Ghana had also become the first African country licensed to export only legally harvested timber, reflecting improvements in forest governance.
On land administration, Mr Buah acknowledged long-standing inefficiencies and corruption, noting that the Ministry had begun a major digitalisation drive to eliminate missing files and delays.
“The system must change,” he said, adding that 70 per cent of internally generated funds retained by the Lands Commission would be used to digitise service delivery to enable Ghanaians to access land services remotely.
He said the Ministry had also decentralised land administration by opening 36 offices nationwide, with plans to establish offices in 110 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
Touching on illegal mining, Mr Buah described pollution of major river systems, particularly in the Southwestern Basin, as one of the gravest challenges inherited.
He said turbidity levels in some rivers had reached between 5,000 and 12,000 NTUs, far above acceptable limits, forcing water treatment plants to shut down and posing serious health and agricultural risks.
To address the problem, the Ministry adopted a five-pillar strategy focusing on stakeholder engagement, regulatory reforms, strengthened law enforcement, reclamation, and alternative livelihoods.
He announced the revocation of over 255 small-scale mining licences, the establishment of District Mining Committees, and a complete overhaul of mining laws to prevent mining in forest reserves and water bodies.
Mr Buah highlighted the introduction of a national tracking system for heavy mining equipment, noting that over 1,800 excavators had been registered, with more than 1,000 currently being tracked nationwide.
Additionally, the Blue Water Guards Initiative, which had recruited about 1,600 young Ghanaians, was helping to protect river bodies and support enforcement agencies.
Going forward, the Ministry would prioritise the operationalisation of the revised Mining Act, expansion of cooperative mining schemes, continued forest restoration, and full digitalisation of land administration, Mr Buah said.
“There will be no mining in forest reserves. There will be no mining in water bodies. We are all going to fight to keep our waters blue and our forests green,” he assured.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe