The Aowin Traditional Council in the Western Region has appealed to the government through the Forestry Commission to help halt the destruction of forest reserves in the Aowin Municipality.
The Council made the appeal in reaction to the invasions of the Tano Anwia, Tano Nimri, and Yooyoo forest reserves by illegal miners.
The Traditional Council has accused the Member of Parliament for the area, Oscar Ofori Larbi, of having a hand in illegal mining activities.
Speaking at a press conference, the Chief of Nkwanta, Nana Nto, admonished the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, to intervene and protect the forests.
“We want to appeal to the government through the forestry commission with all the necessary institutions to come to our aid so that the forest can be protected for us,” he said.
According to him, their repeated calls to Oscar Ofori Larbi to address the issue have gone unanswered, prompting them to urge the regional executives of the NDC to intervene.
The MP has, however, denied his involvement.
“Every single allegation against me is completely false and baseless.”
“This is a deliberate attempt to tarnish my reputation. The claim that I’ve brought northerners to engage in galamsey is particularly surprising, given that these individuals are actually party members who were introduced to the illegal mining task force by the traditional authorities themselves,” he told Accra-based TV3.
On his part, Tufuhene of Enchi, Nana Payin II, said, “As we speak, Hon. Larbie has never honoured our invitation to meet with Nananom. Nananom engaged diplomatically with the regional executives of the NDC to call Larbie to order, but he abused them.”
He went ahead and collected a 200,000 entry fee for groups to enter our forest. Consequently, Nananom have no choice but to write the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference on the 20th to help the government to stop Lavi and his gang from these notorious activities.”
Meanwhile, the Council has called for a collaborative effort involving the government, the Forestry Commission, security agencies, and the media to put an end to illegal mining activities in the Aowin Municipality.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
