A member of Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change communication team, Afia Korankyewaa Anokye, has alleged that some members of the state’s Blue Water Guard are being impregnated by galamseyers.
Afia Korankyewaa Anokye alleged that some female officers of the Blue Water Guard are being influenced with money by galamsey operators.
She claimed she received reports and direct calls from members of the task force confirming her allegations.
Speaking on UTV’s Adekye Nsroma on October 2, 2025, Afia Korankyewaa Anokye stated, “The Blue Water Guard taskforce, which has been charged to fight illegal mining on the rivers, are being impregnated by the galamsey guys. They are getting pregnant… the guys have a lot of money, and they are influencing them with money to have relationships with them.
“I am in Kumasi, and there are so many galamsey sites there. They call and tell me… so, I will plead with Mahama to check because the galamseyers are influencing the girls,” she alleged.
Also, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, a member of Parliament for Assin South in parliament accused the River Guards of abandoning their jobs and now turning themselves into TikTok content creators.
According to him, the government, instead of deploying the Police and Military, are sending River guards who are now creating content on TikTok.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on July 30, 2025, Ntim Fordjour stated, “… Today, galamsey has evolved from being an environmental threat into a criminal enterprise with apparatchiks of the ruling government NDC scrambling for sites,” he said.
“Mr Speaker, galamsey, which our brothers on the other side went around various rivers and fetched water in bottles.
Today, they are not able to go and fetch bottles because of the turbidity of those rivers; they may have to use a shovel to fetch the water and put in the caps,” he asserted.
He added, “And yet, when the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces were asking for adequate budgetary allocation to be able to go and fight head-on, they chose to starve the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, and to appoint river guards.
River guards with no weapons, always doing all kinds of content on TikTok. That is the result of this government, and that is an indication of their lack of commitment to addressing this matter,” he said.
It will be recalled that the Mahama government deployed some 456 Blue River Guards, specifically trained by the Ghana Navy.
The Guards are to protect and monitor water bodies in mining areas affected by illegal mining activities.
According to the Land Minister, Emmanuel Armarh Kofi Buah, the guards are to serve as the ears and eyes of the Security Forces.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama, today, Friday, October 3, will host a high-level meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs) and key stakeholders about the illegal mining (galamsey).
The groups, namely the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ghana, the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Office of the Chief Imam, the Ghana Muslim Mission, Arocha Ghana, and IMANI Ghana, among others.
The meeting is scheduled for Friday, 3rd October, 2025, at 12:00 noon at Jubilee House.
The dialogue is expected to bring together government officials and civil society leaders to find a lasting solution to the menace of illegal mining.
In a letter issued by Dr Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, it indicates the dialogue will serve as a platform for frank and constructive discussions on illegal mining.
The letter stated, “This engagement aims to provide a platform for frank and constructive dialogue between the Government and civil society on the menace of illegal mining, with a view to harnessing collective expertise, perspectives, and solutions to address this national challenge”.
President Mahama’s invitation comes at a time when his government have been receiving backlash over their failure to properly deal with illegal mining.
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