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Dr. Anthony Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Hub Corporation, has called for the complete repeal of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which governs mining operations in Ghana’s forest reserves.
In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Monday, April 28, Dr. Aubynn emphasized the need for a new legal framework that better aligns with environmental protection and more effective regulation of small-scale mining.
“The LI 2462, I support the idea that it should be repealed. It should be completely repealed, and maybe a new law brought in,” he stated. “But if you read the law very carefully and compare it with the policy that existed before then, the danger associated with that law is the fact that it allows the minister to allow for mining in the forests.”
He criticized the existing regulation, which is formally known as the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations and was passed in November 2022, for giving room for mining activities in protected forest areas. According to him, this poses a threat to Ghana’s environmental sustainability.
Reflecting on previous policies, Dr. Aubynn noted that while mining in forests was not entirely forbidden, it was extremely limited and subject to strict conditions. “In the old policies, it didn’t completely ban mining in the forests, but it made it such a difficult enterprise. There were only a few companies that had the concessions to mine in the forests,” he explained.
He also defended the government’s current efforts in curbing illegal mining (galamsey), urging the public to allow more time before passing judgment.
“I think the government is on course in the area of small-scale mining, even if you think that it has not been as fast as you expect,” he said. “This problem has been age-old. It’s been here for a very long time, so four months is certainly too short a period for you to say that it [Mahama government] succeeded in addressing the challenge or not.”
Dr. Aubynn’s comments add to the ongoing debate around responsible mining and environmental protection, as stakeholders continue to seek lasting solutions to the country’s galamsey crisis.
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