To keep illegal miners out of business, the Enugu State government has promised genuine investors adequate security infrastructure, attractive tax regime and road projects.
Shortly after the recent State Executive Council (SEC) meeting, the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Dr Kingsley Udeh, said the state government had resolved to establish the Environmental Remediation Trust Fund (ERTF) and the State Security Trust Fund (SSTF) where miners authorised by the government with genuine licences would contribute an agreed sum of money into the fund for remediation projects to safeguard the environment.
The funds will also be used to ensure that health hazards resulting from the mining activities are mitigated and also enable adequate security of lives and property.
The commissioner, who chided illegal miners for destroying the environment and contaminating people’s sources of living, said the state will stop at nothing in ensuring that all illegal mining sites were shut down and culprits brought to book for their crimes, as their activities contravened the provisions of the state laws.
He also accused them of environmental, economic and security sabotage against the people of the state, adding that those with the desire to invest in mining activities should approach both the federal and the state governments for proper licencing, certification and compliance processes.
“The illegal mining activities are causing huge environmental damage. A lot of our people are exposed to risks associated with water pollution and some of the channels of water now contain carcinogenic elements that are cancerous and exposing our people to ill-health,” he said.
According to him, the state decided to come up with measures, such as the establishment of the ERTF, the SSTF and other collaborative initiatives after receiving the reports of independent assessment on the activities of legal miners.
