The Registrar General of the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA), Regina Sokan-Teah, has called on artisanal miners throughout the country to protect national reserve forests while carrying out their mining activities.
The CDA’s boss made the statement recently when five artisanal mining cooperative societies received full-fledge cooperative certificate and two proposed artisanal mining cooperative societies received cooperative permit. The five artisanal mining cooperative societies that received full-fledge cooperative certificate are Jaedaepo Mining Cooperative, Jaedae Mining and Agriculture Cooperative, Trongbe Mining Cooperative from Sinoe County, Gbebo Mining and Agriculture Development Cooperative, Neegbebo Mining and Agriculture Cooperative Societies from Grand Gedeh County, while in Rivercess County Kploh Mining and Agriculture Cooperative Society received full-fledged cooperative certificate and Nyanee Mining and Agriculture Cooperative Society received cooperative permit under the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP), funded by the World Bank.
The project, under the Project, “Establishment and Training of Artisanal Miners into Cooperative Society through the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP)”, had trained and transformed over fifteen artisanal mining cooperative societies in Gbarpolu, Sinoe, Grand Cape, Grand Gedeh, Lofa and Rivercess counties in close collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Regina Sokan-Teah urged artisanal miners to put into practice what they have been taught by the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy. She also praised the MME family for the level of support and assistance given artisanal miners through the Liberia Forest Sector Project.
Speaking on the prospect of artisanal miners through the Liberia Forest Sector Project, the Deputy Minister for Planning, Research and Development, Carlton S. Miller, cautioned artisanal miners to be grateful and thankful for the level of support and assistance given to them through the Government of Liberia (GOL) under the viable leadership of President George M. Weah. He called on artisanal mining cooperative societies’ leaderships to be honest and sincere in running the affairs of their cooperatives.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Minister for Planning and Training, Johnson S. Willabo, Jr. said the project covered national reserve forests (NRF), with support from the World Bank and the Norwegian government. He said the project has covered 16 artisanal mining cooperative societies, and there are more artisanal mining groups to be transformed into cooperative society.
Assistant Minister Willabo, Jr. used the occasion to call on artisanal miners to use the smart mining techniques after they have carried out mining activities in their communities. He also praised President George M. Weah for the level of support to ordinary Liberians, through the cooperative development movement and the mining communities.
