- John Mahama pledges to ban mining in Ghana's forest reserves
- He prioritizes preserving the country's vegetative cover over mineral exploration
- Mahama promises to promote responsible mining and restore polluted water bodies
Presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama has pledged to safeguard Ghana’s forest reserves from mining activities, emphasizing the need to prioritize environmental preservation over mineral exploration.
Speaking at a public lecture at the Christian Service University in Kumasi, Mahama stressed that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will promote responsible mining practices and restore polluted water bodies to their original state.
“Ghana’s forest reserves are more precious than any minerals that lie underneath them,” Mahama declared. “I will ban all mining in forest reserves because I believe that many of the trees in the reserves, which are more than 700 years old, are more precious assets than any mineral that lies beneath them.”
Mahama’s commitment to protecting Ghana’s vegetative cover comes as a response to concerns over the environmental impact of mining activities in the country’s forest reserves. The former president’s stance aims to strike a balance between economic development and environmental sustainability.
