The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Mike Hamah, has said the country was losing six percent of its Gross Domestic Product through the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators.
He said those monies could have been used to provide social amenities in communities and therefore called for a concerted effort from staff of the Forestry Commission and traditional authorities to address the problem.
Mr Hamah said this when interacting with the staff of the Forestry Commission in Koforidua and Akyem Oda on Thursday as part of his two-day tour of the Eastern Region.
He appealed to staff of the Forestry Commission to live up to expectation adding that he was unhappy at the rate at which the forest
was being depleted.
“You have all the regulations but look at how the forest is being depleted,” he said, “Posterity will not forgive us if we allow the natural resources to be depleted.”
He said that the Ministry was determined to enforce all laws to protect the natural resources.
Mr Hamah said he was unhappy about how the Birim River, which serves as a source of drinking water for many communities, had been polluted.
At Akyem Oda, Mr Wilson Owusu-Asare, the District Forestry Manager spoke of efforts being made by his outfit to clamp down on illegal chainsaw operators.
He appealed to the courts to give harsher punishments to illegal chainsaw operators to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Hamah later toured the Birim Wood Processing Company at Akyem Oda and commended the management on its forestation project.
Mr Joe Mensah, General Manager of the Company, appealed to the Minister to grant them concessions to boost their operations.