Abandoned unlawful mining pits in the Ashanti Region have claimed the lives of at least 23 people, a large percentage of them youngsters.
Despite the fact that four of the remaining bodies are still trapped deep in the pits, 19 have been found.
During the launch of the Minerals Commission’s new ultramodern office complex in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, made this information known.
The Regional Minister stated at the ceremony that 11 of the fatalities were youngsters.
He added that a lot of the people who died were harmless locals who were attempting to get to their farms but died prematurely.
He stated, “Twenty-three individuals died simply because they were traveling to their farms and slipped into uncovered pits that miners had left in the various districts. Only 19 people have been taken out of the pits; the remaining four we have not been able to recover.”
“Eleven of them are children whose futures have been cut short because someone, in his desire for money, left a pit open in some of these regions that lead to farmlands,” he continued.
Dr. Amoakohene emphasized that the Regional Security Council has therefore started reclamation efforts to fill in all abandoned illegal mining pits scattered around many communities, with the help of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
“We have begun reclamation efforts to cover these deserted pits. The Minister deserves our gratitude for this truly continuing work,” Dr. Amoakohene said, urging stakeholders to back the program.
Additionally, he pointed out that the Forestry Commission and the security services had successfully removed all permanent buildings constructed in the area’s forest reserves with the help of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
According to Dr Amoakohene, all structures, including filling stations built deep inside forest reserves, have been made inactive in order to stop fuel deliveries to unauthorized miners.
“In the past, there were well-established gas stations in the forest reserves to help with mining. As of right now, there isn’t a single permanent building or filling station in any of the Ashanti Region’s forest reserves,” he stated.
Dr Amoakohene added that the government, in collaboration with the UK government, has established permanent camps and facilities along rivers in the area that will be utilized by forest guards to protect the forests and water bodies.
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