The Guinean Minister of the Environment proceeded this Wednesday, December 28, 2022, to the suspension of several executives of her department. Hadja Safiatou Diallo blames these executives for failing in their respective responsibilities.

This suspension concerns the prefectural directors of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the heads of the Forestry and Flora sections and the heads of the prefectural units of the Nature Conservancy of Siguiri, Mandiana, Kouroussa and Dubréka.

Environmental degradation

This decision by the Minister of the Environment to suspend these executives from her department is the result of an observation in the artisanal gold mining areas of Siguiri, Kouroussa and Mandiana and in the sand and granite quarries of Dubréka. This report reveals the "constant degradation of the environment of the vegetation cover, the mangrove and the waterways".

Following this observation, the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development announced the suspension of the issuance of certificates, authorizations and notices of conformity for quarrying activities in the context of sand and granite extraction in the prefectures of Dubréka and Coyah. The department says it has observed a profound degradation of the environment due to anarchic extraction of sand and granite in violation of the provisions of the environmental code.