Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mining George Mireku Duker has described as utter shameful and irresponsible how the greed for personal gains is blinding some residents in mineral endowed communities.
He has berated the residents who have watched on for pristine natural resources especially water bodies to be destroyed without recourse to consequences on future generations.
He holds residents in communities nestling around water bodies responsible for allowing them to be destroyed forgetting how resourceful such water bodies have been to their very existence.
Speaking at stakeholders engagement on responsible mining at Bepoh in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region, a frustrated deputy minister could not fathom why residents including traditional leaders have watched on for the Mesin River to be polluted beyond comprehension.
He wondered what future generations will think of the present generation for allowing the Mesin River to be rendered useless when for centuries the Mesin River was central to the survival of thousands of residents.
“Because of greed, we are destroying this country, our future and that of our children. Anyone here at Bepoh cannot claim not to be aware of what is happening to the Mesin River. It’s utter shame that traditional leaders here have also watched on for the Mesin River to be destroyed irrespective of the fact that they are well aware of how useful the river is. Why should it be so. That because of gold we don’t care and have allowed the river to be destroyed. How can anyone explain this,” he berated traditional leaders.
Mireku Duker described persons engaged in illegal mining as unpatriotic and criminals whose actions must not go unpunished.
He made a solemn pledge to work assiduously to ensure that anyone, irrespective of status in society, caught mining on a water body is given the full punishment thereof.
Source: Onuaonline.com|Ghana
