Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng has called for Ghanaians to change their paradigm of thinking before fighting for the protection of the country’s natural resources.

Speaking at the Symposium on the National Environment themed “Protecting and Safeguarding the National Environment for the future generations” Prof. Frimpong Boateng remarked that there was the need for the citizenry to work on the psychological makeup, adding that if we pollute the mind with the wrong attitude then we will definitely pollute the internal and external environments as well.

“.. I want to dwell briefly on the mental environment that is our attitude; our psychological makeup. If we fail in those areas, if we pollute those areas then definitely we’re going to pollute the internal and external environment; because that’s where the battle is from” he stated.

“There are three things that keep a nation from developing; corruption, filth and the lack of capacity to make machine”, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation added, these are all determined by the internal environment. I have never seen any country that has developed in filth… how you treat, clean up your environment is a test of your discipline and preparedness to tackle all other things.”

Following the depletion of several lands and water bodies in the country as a result of illegal mining, government has declared a ban on the activities across the country. Many stakeholders have started campaigns in a bid to protect the environment.