John Dramani Mahama, flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said although getting gold is good, it is not right to destroy Ghana’s forest reserves for that.
The former President, has therefore, reiterated his promise to stop mining in the country’s forest reserves to protect the age-long trees that were bequeathed to the state by the forefathers.
In an engagement with Nananom in the Central Region during the introduction of his running mate Tuesday, July 30, 2024, John Mahama noted that the destruction of Ghana’s forest reserves should not be encouraged, reemphasising the need to protect the forests.
According to him, the next NDC administration under his leadership will not tolerate the mining of gold in forest reserves.
“We are going to stop all mining in forest reserves. Some of those trees existed when our ancestors were here. Some of those trees are 700 years old in those forest reserves. And our ancestors didn’t cut them. Our ancestors left them for us.
“We are going to cut them and what are we going to leave for our children? Savannah, desertification, destroyed environment. And so we must preserve the forest. Yes, it is attractive to get as much gold as we can but that is like cutting your nose to spite your face,” he shared.
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