Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has delivered a critique of the government’s failure to honour its promise to revoke Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, describing the delay as a betrayal of citizen trust and a threat to Ghana’s forest reserves.

Speaking at a press conference held at the International Press Centre, Dr Ashigbey, who also serves as Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, recalled that President John Mahama and several senior government officials had made a “solemn vow” to scrap the LI — a regulation that permits mining in protected forest reserves.

“This was communicated through several public declarations by His Excellency the President himself, before and after the 2024 elections,” Dr Ashigbey said.

“In fact, as recently as 8th May 2025, Prof Jerry S.Y. Kuma, Special Advisor to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, unequivocally stated that the President had directed the LI be revoked in its entirety.”

Despite these assurances, he noted with disappointment that the promised revocation process has yet to begin, even though Parliament has resumed.

“To the best of our knowledge and belief, there is no order of business in Parliament capturing this critical item,” he remarked.

In what he described as “a clear indication that the government is deliberately playing games with citizens”, Dr Ashigbey asserted that the continued silence on the matter is deeply worrying.

“Our demand for the revocation of LI 2462 still stands,” he said. “This is not about political expediency but about safeguarding Ghana’s forest estates and the ecosystem services they provide for generations to come.”

The CEO warned that simply amending the legislation would not suffice.

“We will not accept an amendment that responds to the interests of certain individuals, ignoring the interests of the nation. LI 2462 must be revoked — and with urgency.”

With the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 set to mature and come into force, Dr Ashigbey cautioned that failure by the President to act would force citizens to return to the courts to continue their legal battle.

“That would be most unfortunate,” he said, “especially at a time when Ghanaians are yearning for a genuine reset in governance.”