The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, met with the membership of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs as part of his ongoing consultative meetings to rally the support of traditional leaders in the fight against galamsey.

Galamsey and chainsaw operations have become an albatross around not only the neck of government but also Chiefs. The menace presents a clarion call to all to fight.

Addressing the meeting, the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Nene Sackitey II, assured the Minister of the unflinching support of the House.

He, however, raised the following concerns before the Hon. Minister:

First, he requested the Hon. Minister to follow up on a bill before Parliament seeking to expunge Section 63b of Act 759 to allow them summon their subjects.

Secondly, he requested the Hon. Minister to as a matter of urgency set up a dedicated office at the Lands Commission to handle the concerns of Nananom.

On his part, the Sector Minister, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor thanked the Chiefs for accepting his request to meet him. He added that he was there to interact and seek for their advice and to update the house on various measures being implemented to address challenges in the sub-sector.

The Minister recounted the fruitful discussions he had with the National House of Chiefs following the National Consultative Dialogue in Accra.

He said these and other engagements with the various Regional House of Chiefs is of great importance because the Ministry believes it cannot carry out its mandate of managing Ghana's natural resources without their support.

He emphasized that Government is not against Small Scale Mining but illegal mining.