Lands Ministry, PDU Assess Progress of Five Key Natural Resource Programmes
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has engaged the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) to review the implementation of five major government programmes aimed at transforming Ghana’s land and natural resource sector.
The engagement, led by the Head of the PDU, Madam Dinah Adiko, focused on identifying implementation challenges, addressing bottlenecks and accelerating the delivery of results under the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAIMOS), Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative, reclamation of degraded land sites and Green Mining.
Receiving the PDU delegation, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Yusif Sulemana, outlined measures being undertaken by the Ministry to intensify the fight against illegal mining, particularly activities threatening Ghana’s forest reserves and water bodies.
He said the Ministry had made gains in addressing illegal mining but acknowledged operational and resource constraints that continued to affect the effective implementation of interventions across the sector.
The Deputy Minister said the Ministry remained committed to ensuring that the government’s interventions in the land and natural resource sector delivered measurable results, particularly in protecting the country’s forests, water bodies and other natural assets.
Providing further details on the Ministry’s efforts, the Technical Director in charge of Forestry, Mr Joseph Osiakwan, highlighted the environmental and health consequences of illegal mining and outlined the Ministry’s five-pillar approach to tackling the menace.
He identified the slow pace of prosecution of illegal mining cases, inadequate funding for geological investigations and limited resources for the reclamation and afforestation of degraded lands as some of the major challenges confronting efforts to restore affected areas.
Madam Adiko said the PDU’s engagement with the Ministry formed part of efforts to provide targeted support to priority government programmes and ensure that implementation challenges were identified and addressed promptly.
Following the meeting, the PDU team is expected to conduct field visits and engage directly with the agencies responsible for implementing the programmes to gain a clearer understanding of challenges on the ground.
The field engagements are expected to help translate the assessment into practical interventions and strengthen coordination between the PDU, the Ministry and its implementing agencies.
The exercise is ultimately aimed at accelerating the implementation of the five priority programmes and ensuring that the government’s investments in land restoration, responsible mining, reforestation and alternative livelihoods produce tangible results for Ghanaians.
Judith Twumwaa, ISD
