The Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has commended the Minister of Environment for initiating steps to revoke Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which permits mining in forest reserves.

On August 29, 2025, the Acting Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, wrote to the Office of the Attorney General for the formal and immediate revocation of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462 and its amended version, L.I. 2501.

This decisive legislative action is a cornerstone of the government’s enhanced strategy to combat the menace of illegal mining (galamsey), which has caused severe environmental degradation across the country.

The move, according to the Coalition, is a crucial step toward strengthening Ghana’s legal framework against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, which has devastated water bodies and degraded forest reserves.

Speaking to Citi News on Sunday, August 31, 2025, the Coalition’s Convenor, Ken Ashigbey, urged the Attorney General to act swiftly to complete the repeal process.

“This is what we want to see—not the situation we had under the obnoxious law that opened even our protected forest reserves for mining. This is a positive step, and we hope the Attorney General will move quickly to make this revocation a reality,” he said.

Mr. Ashigbey, however, raised concern over the Inspector-General of Police’s recent decision to withdraw the special task force that had been enforcing environmental regulations in mining communities.

He argued that rather than withdrawing, the police should collaborate closely with the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), since many Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) have failed to effectively combat the menace.

“MMDCEs have proven they cannot be trusted. Even without the IGP’s task force from Accra, their incompetence is evident. That should not, however, be the reason to withdraw the police team. NAIMOS should instead be resourced with the logistics needed to carry out their mandate,” he stressed.