The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has vowed to ban all mining activities, whether legal or illegal, in the country’s forest zones if he is elected President.

Speaking at the launch of the NDC’s 2024 election campaign manifesto policy in Winneba, Central Region, former President Mahama specifically targeted Akonta Mining, a company owned by Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“If I’m elected as the president of Ghana after December 7, 2024, I will drive all those mining in forest zones, including Akonta Mining, out of these areas,” Mahama declared. “They should start packing before we come after them,” he warned.

Mahama emphasized that mining in forest zones is detrimental to the environment and contributes to ecological issues such as drought. “It is wrong to mine in the forest; such activities threaten our environmental survival,” he added.

Akonta Mining, the company at the centre of Mahama’s remarks, is owned by Chairman Wontumi and has been the subject of controversy due to its operations in forested areas.