Galamsey: Democracy Hub will hit the street should gov’t fail to repeal LI 2462 after online protest — Oliver Barker

Lead convener of Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker Vormawor, has warned that the group will stage a street protest if government fails to repeal Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, which permits mining in forest reserves.

He said the group will begin with an online protest on Tuesday, April 22, which coincides with the global celebration of Earth Day.

In a social media post on Thursday, April 17, Mr Barker Vormawor said, “On Tuesday, 22nd April — which is Earth Day — Democracy Hub is calling for an online protest. From 7am to 10pm, we are calling on everyone on every platform to write a letter to Mother Ghana and conclude with the hashtag #EndGalamseyNow.”

He added, “This is part of the range of actions we are taking towards a street protest if the government doesn’t repeal LI 2462 and ban mining in forest reserves.”

Democracy Hub’s protest is in response to government’s decision to amend, rather than repeal, the controversial regulation.

LI 2462, officially known as the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022, was passed in November 2022.

It allows mining in all forest reserves, including both production and protected areas — a move that has sparked widespread backlash from environmental activists.

Government is currently amending the law to remove the President’s authority to grant mining concessions in forest reserves, but critics say the amendment does not go far enough.

Defending the decision, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, said on Metro TV on Tuesday, April 15, that the main concern raised by critics was the presidential discretion in the law, not the law itself.

He maintained that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), under which he serves, has never completely opposed LI 2462.