President of the Small Scale Miners Association, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, has asserted that the military cannot effectively halt illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
‘Galamsey’ has significantly contributed to deforestation and destruction of farmlands and waterbodies in Ghana.
Discussions about the effects have been reignited following a recent JoyNews documentary titled ‘Poisoned Rivers’ which highlighted the seriousness of river pollution.
A recent report by The Fourth Estate has also named some government officials and politically exposed persons who are seeking permits to mine in Ghana’s forest reserves including protected areas.
Reacting to this, Ghanaian statesman, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe stated that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on any day would have halted the canker, but cannot do the same now due to the high political interest.
However, Mr Peprah disagrees with his statement.
In an interview with Adom News, he stated this is not the first time Ghana is using radical means to stop illegal mining, and it has failed several times, even under previous governments.
He emphasised that, leadership is a major challenge in the fight against illegal mining.
“Those that we are expecting to halt illegal mining are those involved,” he noted, pointing out that the security services, appointed by the government, find it difficult to deal with offenders.
Mr Peprah highlighted that the involvement of those supposed to combat galamsey is a significant obstacle.
He recalled how people were killed and others imprisoned in Obuasi, Prestea, and Kenyasi by the military, but these efforts did not solve the problem.
He mentioned that former President John Agyekum Kufuor made efforts, but they were also unsuccessful.
Peprah also stated that, unemployment is a contributing factor to the persistence of illegal mining.
“If we want to stop this, then we must create jobs for people, especially the youth,” he said.
Source: Jagri Boaz Binyinjom
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