Awula Serwah, Co-ordinator of Eco Conscious Citizens, has challenged Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah’s claim that an outright revocation of L.I. 2462 would interfere with the mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

She made this assertion while contributing to a discussion on the depletion of forest cover due to illicit mining activities on JoyNews Newsfile on March 22, 2025.

Addressing the claim by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources that revoking L.I. 2462 would hinder the EPA’s operations, she stated that the assertion was false.

“The EPA has the mandate to operate irrespective of L.I. 2462. Let’s be absolutely clear; the President was informed and had all this information when he said he would revoke the L.I. He knows the difference between revocation and amendment,” she said.

She accused both the minister and the president of being disingenuous in handling the fight against illegal mining.

“What is the point of growing new trees when you are happily supervising the destruction of our forest reserves? Let’s stop deceiving ourselves. The review of the L.I. is slightly disingenuous. L.I. 2462 is not what gives absolute protection to our forests,” she said.

She also alleged that the government had declassified portions of the Achimota Forest, the last remaining forest in Accra under L.I. 144, lamenting the alarming rate of environmental degradation in the country.

She subsequently demanded that the L.I. be recalled and revoked, pending proper consultations with the Forestry Commission, environmental protection organizations, and all relevant stakeholders.

The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) (Revocation) Instrument, 2024, a new legislative instrument, will revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2462) and make any form of mining in forest reserves illegal.

However, on March 19, 2025, the minister announced a ban on small-scale mining and justified the revocation of small-scale mining licenses, stressing that they had been granted without due process.

This move aligns with the government’s commitment to fighting illegal mining, including stricter controls on excavator imports, a complete ban on the fabrication and importation of floating mining equipment, and other regulatory measures.

The revocation takes retrospective effect; hence, all licenses for small-scale mining issued after December 7, 2024, are now null and void.

VPO/MA