The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has called for tougher enforcement against illegal miners accused of destroying the environment and polluting water bodies, warning that those responsible must no longer escape punishment.

She said the continued destruction of water bodies and land through illegal mining was unacceptable and required urgent action by the relevant state institutions.

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Speaking during a field visit on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said the government needed to strengthen enforcement measures to deal with people who continued to engage in illegal mining despite efforts to reclaim degraded lands.

“You have people causing this level of devastation, poisoning our waters, destroying the environment, and they’re just constantly getting away. We need to really clamp down on the enforcement side of things,” she said.

The minister said she had been briefed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on some of the challenges the authority and its team had encountered during field operations.

She also highlighted the resources being committed to reclaiming and restoring lands damaged by mining, arguing that Ghanaians involved in mining must meet the same environmental standards expected of foreign investors operating in the country.

“If, as a country, we expect this of foreigners when they come and mine in our country, we must put ourselves to the same standard. No one must be exempt. No one is above the law,” she stressed.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said she would discuss the situation with the EPA chief executive and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, while also engaging national security officials to address continued encroachment and illegal mining activities in areas earmarked for reclamation.

She called for urgent intervention to protect the affected areas, insisting that efforts to restore degraded lands would be undermined if illegal miners were allowed to continue operating there.

ANAS/MA

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