Executive Director for Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu, has denied reports of potential mining activity in the nation’s protected areas, including Kakum National Park.
During an interview on UTV on November 13, 2023, Dr. Kokofu shared his apprehensions, saying, “I have directed my Chief Executive Director, responsible for the operation, to visit the Minerals Commission and our office in the Central Region and furnish me with feedback.”
“The Minerals Commission didn’t even agree to that, and for us at the Environmental Protection Agency, we won’t sit aloof. If we don’t take care, people can illegally go and mine there without any license. We are calling for security coordination and beefing up security in all the national parks, including Kakum,” he said.
Recent reports have indicated that High Street Ghana Limited, a mining company, is in the process of seeking leasing rights for portions of Kakum National Park to conduct mining activities. This has sparked criticism from various civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ghana, who assert that such a move is unacceptable.
High Street Ghana Limited’s application for a mining license within Kakum National Park is currently undergoing validation by the Minerals Commission. Information gleaned from a stakeholder engagement on November 9, focusing on the new Regulation on Mining in Ghana’s Forest Reserves (LI 2462), revealed that the company’s proposal encompasses around 24% of the park.
Mustapha Seidu, the Director of the Nature and Development Foundation, sounded the alarm during the engagement, cautioning that the failure to reconsider and potentially revoke the legislative instrument (LI 2462) could result in extensive destruction of the country’s forests.
“As we speak, there are 14 more applications under different stages of consideration by the Minerals Commission, including an application by High Street Ghana Limited to mine in the Kakum National Park,” Seidu stated.
“If, in less than one year of coming into force of LI 2462, we are seeing this massive legal destruction of our forest, we can imagine what will happen in the next five years or decade.”
In a press release on Sunday, November 12, 2023, the Minerals Commission revealed that it had rejected an application for mining in Kakum National Park submitted by High Street Ghana Limited. Emphasizing the significance of the park, the commission made it clear that it will not authorize any mining activities within the forest.
The report further detailed that the Minerals Commission has removed the company’s application from its online mining cadaster. The commission responded to social media posts highlighting objections from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) against the mining firm’s attempt to operate in Kakum National Park in the Central Region.
Addressing these concerns, the Minerals Commission affirmed that the application by High Street Ghana Limited had been officially rejected, and as a result, it would not be processed or considered.
The commission assured the public that no mineral rights, whether for prospecting or mining, would be granted in Kakum National Park.