John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has pledged to end mining in forest reserves if elected president in the December 7 elections.
Mahama stated that the destruction of forest reserves for gold extraction should not be supported.
Speaking to chiefs and elders in the Central Region, he emphasized the need to protect Ghana’s forests and assured that his government would not permit gold mining in these areas at the cost of environmental preservation.
“We are going to stop all mining in forest reserves. Some of those trees existed when our ancestors were here. Some of those trees are 700 years old in those forest reserves. And our ancestors didn’t cut them. Our ancestors left them for us.
“We are going to cut them and what are we going to leave for our children? Savannah, desertification, destroyed environment. And so we must preserve the forest. Yes, it is attractive to get as much gold as we can but that is like cutting your nose to spite your face.”
