Galamsey fight: Panelist at MG dialogue rejects call by Minerals C’ssion’s CEO for concerted effort

A participant at Media General’s Anti-galamsey forum on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, questioned the Minerals Commission’s call for a concerted effort in fighting illegal mining.

According to him, the Commission cannot unilaterally grant concessions to people for them to abuse it and come back to ask Ghanaians to help in the fight against the canker which is also known as ‘galamsey’.

Speaking at the forum on the theme: The Galamsey Fight, Beyond the Talk, What Next?, the young man noted that if the Minerals Commission had not reneged on its role in ensuring people work according to the guidelines given them, the issue of galamsey wouldn’t have exacerbated to these levels.

He described the Minerals Commission’s call for a united front in tackling the menace a charade, since it cannot hold offenders responsible for their actions.

“If you sit in your office and give concession to people to go and mine somewhere else and you go out there and you find out that they are mining in the river bodies, what are you telling me to do? It’s camouflage, it’s a charade,” he stated.

“So, when you give a concession to someone to mine in Asokwa and you go and see the person mining in Birim and you come crying to me, to do what really? That we should all come to fight with you? Are we all together signing the concession [sic] (license) in your office that we should all come together and fight it?” he quizzed.

Government has abandoned the fight against galamsey leaving citizens to stage a protest to draw its attention to the menace which has caused widespread environmental destruction in the country.

Civil advocacy group Democracy Hub, organised a three-day protest against the government which escalated into a clash with the police leading to the arrest of protestors, including a minor, 10-year-old, amid growing unrest over illegal mining and economic hardship.

Many have criticised the police for the manner with which they handled the protestors, with private legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, calling for the resignation of the IGP.

But, the spokesperson for the Ghana Police Service, Grace Ansah-Akrofi, indicated after the arrests that, the police picked up the demonstrators because their assembly was unlawful, and the officers’ attempt to maintain order caused the clash between them.

“The demonstrators engaged in acts of lawlessness, damaging state property and obstructing traffic,” Ansah-Akrofi told the media, adding that “they disrupted the peace. Those responsible will face justice.”

Meanwhile, the suspects have been detained into custody for two more weeks, something many have condemned and described as out of place.

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