Convener for the Media Coalition against illegal mining, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey has blamed the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission for the recent invasion of the Atewa forest reserve by illegal miners.
His comments come after some unidentified persons entered the Segyemase part of the Atewa forest reserve with excavators and other mining machinery despite government’s ban on mining in protected forests.
The excavators and other mining machinery were quickly set on fire by the Commission’s officers, but they were unable to make any arrests.
Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey reacting to the situation attributed the invasion on the Forestry Commission Management’s lack of supervision.
“The leadership of the Forestry Commission should be held responsible. How did it happen that they did not see that the excavator was in there, and they want to pretend as if they have done something? He asked.
Dr. Ashigbey is of the opinion that the Commission is hiding evidence, thus destroying the excavator.
“They know who took the equipment in there, and so we need to hold the Chief Executive of the Forestry, up to the Regional officer and then the district officer responsible. We cannot accept this level of incompetence and complicity in this particular fight,” he reiterated.
Dr. Ashigbey also questioned the effectiveness of the supposed tracking of excavators and the geo-blocking initiative launched by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources last year.
“We have been told by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources that they are going to be tracking these excavators; we have been told that they are going to geo-block them, so how come we did not see them?” he said.
