Minister of Lands, Forestry, and Mines Esther Obeng Dapaah of Ghana

The Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines Esther Obeng Dapaah has stated that the Forestry Commission will no longer issue license to timber companies who are indebted to it.

TheMinister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Esther Obeng Dapaah has inaugurated the reconstituted Board of the Land Commission with a call on the members to be proactive and efficient in addressing the numerous challenges threatening the land sector.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah expressed the hope that although the land sector is beset with a host of challenges and constraints, the ongoing land administration project will work on all fronts to find lasting solutions to them.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the failure of the claimants to settle their differences had made it difficult for the government to sign memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with them.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said there was a list of all families and stools qualified to get back their compulsorily acquired land.

Madam Obeng Dapaah said this at the closing session of the fourth African Mining Partnership Executive Committee ministerial meeting in Accra.

Madam Obeng Dapaah said the inability of the AMP to affiliate the African Union has been a major draw back, hence the need for the sector minister to co-operate with the sub-regional body, including ECOWAS, to help facilitate their activities.

Esther Obeng Dapaah has refuted the notion that Members of Parliament intentionally absent themselves from parliamentary sittings.

var RTR_ArticleBlurb = " By Daniel Flynn ACCRA, April 23 (Reuters) - Ghana will amend its laws to reap more benefit from its mining sector and the government may take a more direct role in the sector, Mining Minister Esther Obeng Dapaah said on Wednesday.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said physical abuse on children included slapping, kicking, punching, biting, whipping, burning and sheer neglect.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the impact of these forms of abuse was grave and if not adequately addressed might result in lasting mental and psychological problems for victims.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said existing laws under the Criminal Code might allow for punishment of culprits but it did not provide for compensation for victims and counselling for both victim and offender.

The Minister for Land, Mines and Forestry, Madam Esther Obeng-Dapaah has asked Ghanaians to give back to their communities the fruits of their labour to help improve the lives of their people.

Madam Obeng-Dapaah said last year, she invited a medical team from Germany to conduct free eye test and breast cancer screening in the area, 500 people were treated for eye problems and given spectacles whiles 35 women were also treated for breast cancer.

Esther Obeng-Dapaah met galamsey operators, gold buyers and some chiefs from the district at New Abirem.

Obeng-Dapaah said the government had good polices and programmes for small-scale miners and therefore advised them to abide by the rules and regulations governing their trade to put them in business.

Madam Obeng-Dapaah said since 2005, 11,460 documents covering lands, had been registered and 22 per cent of those who registered their lands were women and gave the assurance that the registries would be computerised to enhance their operations.

Madam Obeng-Dapaah said seven customary Land Secretariats had in addition been established, bringing their number to 17 to improve the capacities for traditional authorities within these areas to managed their lands properly.

Answering another question from the MP for Pru, Mr Masoud Baba Abdul-Rahman, who enquired about when the removal of tree stumps from the Volta Lake would begin, Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the agreement for the removal of the stumps was signed in February 2006 between the government and a company called Sustainable Resource Developments Ghana Limited.

Ms Obeng-Dapaah said it was the policy of the Ministry to train users of wood to use lesser volumes of wood to generate high value-added products.

Ms Obeng-Dapaah said it is the policy of the Ministry to train users of wood to use lesser volumes of wood to generate high value-added products, noting that the Ministry through the Natural Resources and Environmental Governance Programme (NREG) would provide all the necessary support to ensure the training programme is sustained.

Dapaah is also a member of Ghanas Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs.

access and tenure rights to the developers.

Madam Dapaah was addressing members of the Ghana Timber Association (GTA) at their Annual General Meeting under the theme: Helping to Build Ghana through the Conservation of Our Forest, at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu-Juaben District of the Ashanti Region.

Dapaah is advocating for support of the Domestic Violence Bill currently being considered by parliament, which will address these and other shortcomings in the existing criminal code.

Esther Obeng Dapaah has given clear indications that Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) will be given a permit to commence operations at the controversial Akyem Ajenua Bepo forest by the end of the year.

Dapaah was optimistic that Newmont's operation will create job opportunities for the people and at the same time enhance the living standards of the communities.