Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, has given all Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the region a two-week ultimatum to compile profiles of all miners and their financiers operating within their respective areas.
The directive seeks to distinguish licensed miners who comply with mining and environmental regulations from those engaging in illegal mining activities, particularly along river bodies and within forest reserves.
Mrs. Awatey issued the directive during a crucial meeting held on Monday, October 6, 2025, in Koforidua. The meeting brought together MDCEs, NDC constituency executives, and other key stakeholders, including the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Gbande.
The engagement follows President John Mahama’s recent high-level meeting with civil society organizations (CSOs) at the Jubilee House to develop sustainable measures to combat illegal mining (galamsey).
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mrs. Awatey reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strictly enforce mining laws across the region.
“Illegal mining is not just a regional issue — it is a national and environmental problem, and the nation is not taking it kindly at all,” she said.
“I have charged all municipal and District chief executives to go into their communities and profile all mining centres and their owners. Within two weeks, every miner must be known, those with proper licenses and those operating illegally.”
The Minister also ordered that miners operating along water bodies and in forest reserves be given two weeks to vacate such areas, warning that defaulters would be prosecuted.
“We are using the two weeks to profile all the mining centres. To profile all the miners. Yes, we know there are some miners that are even mining in many areas but they don’t have licence. Those are the things we are looking for. And as a Regional minister, I believe in these executives that I’m working with. I’m charging them from here, we believe that they are going to make sure the laws on mining are enforced in our municipalities and districts.”
“We have laws that regulate mining, and we must make sure they are enforced. Water areas and forest reserves are no-go zones, and anyone who ignores this will face prosecution,” she stressed.
Mrs. Awatey also lauded the participation of party executives, traditional leaders, and local authorities in the meeting, noting that their cooperation is vital in enforcing by-laws and national mining regulations across the region.
“We have our constituency executives, we have our chairman, we have our organisers, we have our secretaries here. And this is what we are doing in the eastern region to make sure the bylaws and the laws that are governing mining are enforced in our region.”
The profiling exercise, which takes effect immediately, is expected to guide a comprehensive regional operation against illegal mining once the two-week period ends.
Source : Adomonline
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