Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings has called for a coordinated, government-wide response to illegal mining, warning that stronger cooperation between ministries and agencies is needed to limit the damage caused to the environment and human life.
She said closer cooperation between Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would help the government confront the problem more effectively while preventing different institutions from duplicating one another’s work.
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings, who is also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Klotey-Korley, said the widespread nature of illegal mining meant that local governance structures had to be central to the response.
She highlighted the importance of working with decentralised agencies, including the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), because many of the activities linked to galamsey take place within local government areas.
The minister-designate also proposed regular reporting on measures being introduced to combat illegal mining. She said this would strengthen transparency and allow the government to judge whether its interventions were producing the desired results.
If Parliament approves her nomination, Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings said one of her first priorities would be to meet ministers whose responsibilities are directly linked to the issue.
“The fight against illegal mining and the subsequent damage it does to the environment and human life are an all-of-government and all-of-society imperative. I do believe that the easiest way to address it is to have effective coordination between the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies,” she stated.
She said such meetings would involve ministers responsible for areas including Lands and Local Government, with the aim of creating a shared strategy rather than allowing institutions to operate independently.
“Should I get the approval from this Committee and the House, I would want to sit with the relevant ministers of the various ministries that have an interest in the fight, which would range from Lands as well as Local Government, to ensure that we are all on the same page to avoid the silo effect,” she added.
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings said discussions between the relevant ministers would provide the foundation for a unified approach and ensure that all participating agencies were working towards the same objective.
She further said she would seek a detailed briefing from the EPA on the present state of the illegal-mining problem and the interventions already under way.
That engagement, she said, would help establish a clearer understanding of existing actions and support better coordination across the agencies involved in Ghana’s response to galamsey.
