Rt. Rev. Dr Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has said the government can crush illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, if they want to.
According to the Presby Moderator, the government must demonstrate the political will needed to end galamsey.
He argued that the government has the authority and capacity to tackle Ghana’s galamsey menace, calling for decisive action to be taken.
Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, August 26, Rt. Rev. Dr Kwakye stated, “All of us are aware that this nation is in a direction that is not going to help us. The communities where mining is taking place are getting destroyed. And our waters are polluted. And we spend huge amounts of money to treat water”.
“I think that government has the political power. It also has the might to crush galamsey. If government wants to crush galamsey, government is able to.”
“I pray that this nation will rise up together. It looks like we are not angry enough to deal with it. Whatever the problems, let’s deal with galamsey because it affects me. It affects you,” he said.
“We sit in Accra; there’s no galamsey going on here, but we are all reaping from what is happening in these places,” he said.
The Presbyterian Moderator further called for a bipartisan approach to tackling illegal mining.
“We are not partisan. We are looking at the welfare and development of our nation,” he said.
“What we are seeking is for this nation to do what is right. And for this nation to be united. And that is why we are asking for a bipartisan approach. It’s important that we save ourselves,” he said.
“The water that is polluted does not ask whether your lips are NDC or New Patriotic Party. They don’t seek your partisan colours,” he said.
‘I want results, not just a state of emergency’
He, however, expressed reservations about calls for the declaration of a state of emergency to deal with illegal mining, saying, “I think it’s getting worse when people say they want a state of emergency. I personally, I do not know what they mean. A state of emergency might be declared, and it may not yield fruit”.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said his government will not give up in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Mahama argued that Ghana is making progress in the fight against illegal mining.
According to John Mahama, the government will intensify efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by illegal mining activities.
He highlighted that the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has played a key role in the ongoing efforts.
Speaking during his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper East Region, Mahama stated, “NAIMOS is working very hard. We have seized excavators, we have seized Changfang machines, and we have driven illegal miners out of this area, and we are making progress. Out of the almost 49 forest reserves that were invaded [by illegal miners], we have been able to clear as many of them as possible of illegal miners.
“What we initially did was that we handed the places to the Forestry Commission after clearing them, but the illegal miners don’t fear the forest guards, and so we now put a military detachment after we clear a forest reserve.
“That means we will have to spend more money to feed the soldiers and provide logistics for them to continue to stay in the forest, but we will not give up the fight.”
The president, however, admitted that additional resources are required to sustain security deployments in reclaimed forest reserves, adding that the government would remain committed to preventing illegal miners from returning to areas already cleared.
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