The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has disclosed that the Mahama administration will move to revoke the controversial Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, which grants permission for mining in forest reserves.
The regulation has faced intense criticism from the public, civil society groups, and political actors since its introduction.
Dr Ayine announced a stakeholder dialogue on illegal mining, organised by President John Dramani Mahama in Accra on Friday, October 3, 2025.
He explained that his office has already prepared a replacement regulation—LI 2505—which will be presented to Parliament when it reconvenes on October 14, 2025.
“We have prepared an instrument that is LI 2505 in my office, and that will be laid in Parliament on the 14th of October, 2025,” he stated.
He further confirmed that the decision had been taken in consultation with the sector Minister, noting that the repeal will put an end to the contentious LI 2462.
“The Minister and I have agreed that on the 14th of October, when Parliament resumes, we will lay that instrument to revoke the famous LI 2462,” he reiterated.
The planned repeal is expected to ease public concerns about the government’s stance on protecting Ghana’s forest reserves from illegal mining.
LI 2462 is Ghana’s controversial Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022, which permits mining in forest reserves under specific conditions, though critics argue it fails to adequately restrict damaging activities and lacks public input.
Passed without public engagement, it faced backlash for potentially exacerbating deforestation and biodiversity loss.
In 2024 and 2025, the Ghanaian government initiated the process to revoke LI 2462 due to these environmental concerns and widespread calls for its repeal.
Civil society groups and individuals continue to pressure the government to fully repeal the regulation and declare a state of emergency to tackle illegal mining activities effectively.
