Minister of State in charge of Finance and Allied Institution, Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, has said that the current rate of the nation’s economic growth is under threat due to the increasing environmental pollution caused by illegal mining activities and land degradation among others.
“The country’s sustainable growth depends on its
environment.
“There is need now for the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to get people with the heart to fight environmental degradation,
but not people who will go hunting for data to inform the public of the
negative effects only,” said Mr. Kwetey at the official launch of the 40th-year
anniversary celebration of the EPA in Accra.
“It is my
wish that the 40-years fora will be used to educate the public one the need to
protect their environment and the effects of environmental pollution.
“The external environment is invariably the
reflection of our internal environment. Until we fight what is in us, we will
not see any change,” he said.
The Minister for Environmental, Science, Technology
and Innovation, Dr. Joe Oteng-Agyei disclosed plans to set up EPA offices in
all Metropolitan Municipal Districts Assemblies within the next five years to
help widen the scope its operations.
The additional offices of the Agency will as well
ensure that natural resources of the land are well-protected to create a strong
and quality environment.
“Land-degradation, especially the issue of illegal
mining, will be best dealt with if EPA offices are all across the length and
breadth of the nation,” Dr. Oteng-Agyei said.
He said his outfit in commemorating the 40th
anniversary of EPA will focus on dealing with waste management as well as getting
off government subvention in the next two years.
Touching on government’s commitment to fighting land
degradation, Dr. Oteng-Agyei highlighted a number of targets.
These include mainstreaming environment and climate
change in all sectors of the economy for development, promoting science and
technology education, and protecting and improving the environment including
the mining sector.
Naa Professor John Nabila, President of the House of
Chiefs and also Chairman of the occasion, appealed to the EPA to strengthen its
supervisory role in environmental governance to meet the needs and aspirations
of the people.
He said the nation cannot continue to receive waste
and harmful products from other nations while the EPA appears to be looking on
unconcerned.
“Society expects the Agency to do more on waste
management to guarantee clean and safe environment for healthy life.”
Professor Nabilla called on the Agency to work
toward ensuring efficient waste management and arresting the nuisance of
illegal gold mining that is causing excessive environmental degradation and
pollution.
He said the EPA needs to reposition itself at the
forefront of checking abandoned products from the Americas and Europe with
their attendant health implications for citizens.
The Agency has to ensure stiff environmental checks
and pursue its supervisory role vigorously to stop the indiscriminate dumping
of waste items in the country, Professor Nabila said.
He called on the Agency to develop close linkages
with other departments and agencies to ensure issues of the environment are
dealt with in a holistic dimension.
Executive Director of EPA, Mr. Daniel Amlalo, said
the Agency is striving with many challenges -- but added that urgent steps are
being taken to address them.
He said his outfit is stepping up its linkages with
the private sector to expand to all districts in the next five years.
Mr. Amlalo observed that for effective environmental
governance, the citizenry ought to be disciplined in wast- disposal and
pollution as well as get actively involved in curbing the canker.
“We are liaising with the judiciary to reinforce environmental
supervision regulations for successful enforcement,” he revealed.
No comments:
Post a Comment