Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has rolled out the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), which is expected to train 5,000 youth in agriculture, technical, vocational, industrial and mining skills.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, who announced this on Tuesday in Accra, said the programme was also being implemented to provide alternative sources of income for communities affected by the fight against illegal mining.

“The Programme employs several youths in the production of seedlings and reclamation of degraded mined lands. Currently, reclamation is ongoing over one thousand hectares (1,000 ha) of degraded lands in Ashanti, Eastern and Western North Regions,” he added.

The NAELP was launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2021 as part of national efforts to curb illegal mining.

It is an apprenticeship, skills training and entrepreneurship module intended to be an exit route for those whose means of livelihood directly or indirectly depended on illegal mining.