The National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, has promised to halt all mining activities in forest reserves if he wins the December 7 election.

Mahama criticized the practice of mining in these protected areas, emphasizing the need to preserve Ghana's forests.

In a recent address to chiefs and elders in the Central Region, he underlined that these forests, some containing trees as old as 700 years, must be protected for future generations.

“We are going to stop all mining in forest reserves. Some of those trees existed when our ancestors were here. Some of those trees are 700 years old in those forest reserves. And our ancestors didn’t cut them. Our ancestors left them for us.

“We are going to cut them and what are we going to leave for our children? Savannah, desertification, destroyed environment. And so we must preserve the forest. Yes, it is attractive to get as much gold as we can but that is like cutting your nose to spite your face.”