Deputy National Director of Operations at A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has criticised the government’s decision to amend rather than repeal Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, describing it as a “total departure” from campaign promises made by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Speaking during the JoyNews National Dialogue on Thursday, Mr. Bosu expressed disappointment, accusing the governing NDC of reneging on its commitment to completely repeal the law, which regulates mining activities in forest reserves.

“The amendment coming from the government, as it is for us, is a total departure and completely shocking,” Mr. Bosu said.

He recalled the NDC’s earlier position during the 2024 election campaign, when the party had publicly aligned with environmental activists demanding a repeal of the instrument.

“When we were on the street and everywhere campaigning and engaging through policy framework and dialogue, they were with us… rallying with us on the call to actually repeal this L.I.”

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L.I. 2462 has drawn widespread criticism from environmental groups who argue that its provisions allow mining in protected forest areas under questionable terms. Although the government has moved to amend Regulation 3(2) of the L.I. to address these concerns, Mr. Bosu insisted that the partial amendment fails to meet the expectations set during the campaign.

“We have not said that everything about the L.I. is bad,” he clarified. “But to just go ahead and make an amendment to just a section… does not satisfy the political promise that was made.”

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He also questioned whether internal political dynamics were influencing the decision.

“We are suspecting… that somebody is concerned that, because at the time they were then the chairpersons of the committee that really passed the L.I., now that they are in government, they don’t want to see the L.I. go.”

Despite government assurances, Mr. Bosu maintained that merely tweaking the legislation does not resolve the core environmental and accountability issues at stake.