Stop burning our equipment or we demonstrate – Small-scale miners to gov’t

Small-scale miners have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to end the destruction of their properties, or else they would respond with a demonstration.

“We are giving the government 7 days to address these concerns. If nothing is heard from them, we will embark on a three-day nationwide demonstration,” The Small-Scale Miners Association said.

Its Communications Director for the association, Abdul Razak Alhassan, explained in a press conference that the military was terrorizing its operations.

According to him, they are exempted from action by the military recently deployed to clamp down illegal mining activities because their sites are not close to river bodies.

Anti-galamseys have adopted a new approach of burning excavators and other equipment found at illegal mining sites.

But the association has called for an end to the destruction.

Addressing the media at Ntaferewaso in the Twifo-Atti Morkwa District of the Central Region, he said, “ the military was deployed to specific river bodies, but we are seeing a situation where they veer into communities with licensed small-scale miners and end up burning their equipment”.

Some of the communities he said were affected include Asamoakorom and Awusem, both in the Twifo Praso District of the Central Region.

The government held a Stakeholder Dialogue on Small Scale from April 14 to 15, 2021.

Subsequently, a roadmap was drawn to address illegal mining, which poses a threat to the environment, including water bodies and human lives.

But the small-scale miners are of the position that military deployment was not part of the resolutions.

“We need clarifications on the President’s directive to the military. We do not understand why the government made a u-turn on the issues raised at the meeting held at the Accra International Conference Centre.”

Akufo-Addo Deploys 200 Soldiers To Fight Galamsey

A contingent of 200 troops was deployed in a renewed galamsey fight on the orders of President Akufo-Addo.

A statement from the Information Ministry, which made the announcement, said the team commenced operations on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, on the River Pra in the Central and Western Regions.

It added that the move was to ensure that mining within water bodies is immediately stopped.

This latest action to fight the menace, popularly known as galamsey, comes after the Stakeholder Dialogue on Small Scale Mining.

Despite an initial war waged against the galamsey menace, the illegal practice continues to threaten the environment, polluting water bodies and depleting the country’s forest reserves.

In recent times, Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing a crisis in the hands of illegal miners.

The illegal miners have now turned their machines and equipment into cocoa farms cutting down every tree which stands in their way.

The activities of these galamseyers have caused a huge uproar among environmentalists, CSOs, the government, and the public.

To boost confidence in his government, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the commitment of his government to deal with the galamsey phenomenon in the country, emphasizing that his administration’s efforts will be deliberate during its second in office.

The president gave the assurance when he received Okyehene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, and other Akyem Abuakwa chiefs at the Jubilee House when they paid a courtesy call on him.

“We are all witnesses to what has become of our major water bodies such as brim, Pra, Ankobra. All these strategic water bodies have been polluted as a result of Galamsey.

“It is my considered opinion that we need a deliberate effort and plans to eliminate the Galamsey menace in our country,” the president said.

Similar military deployment

Shortly after the first Akufo-Addo administration commenced in 2017, a joint military and police task force known as Operation Vanguard was unleashed to combat illegal mining.

However, the desired results were not achieved despite some successes achieved from the joint team.

After nearly three years of working together, the military component of the task force was dissolved by the government in March 2020.

It was believed that the withdrawal of the military from the joint task force was to allow restrategizing by the government in the fight against illegal mining.

The task was left in the hands of the police.

Despite their operations, there are still activities of illegal miners dotted across the country.

What necessitated the galamsey fight

Over the years, there have been growing public frustration over efforts to reclaim damaged environments.

Polluted water bodies like River Pra are still looking brownish with residues of cyanide.

Some areas of the country initially covered by thick vegetation have become bare.

The NPP government launched Operation Vanguard in 2017 to reclaim mining zones from environmental degradation caused by illegal mining.

President Nana Akufo-Addo made the fight against illegal mining one of the key objectives of his government.

“I have said it in the Cabinet, and perhaps this is the first time I am making this public, that I am prepared to put my Presidency on the line on this matter,” he said in 2017.

The government set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

A nationwide ban on small-scale mining and illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, followed.

After four years,  the government is under pressure to highlight the positives following several scandals.

There is an increasing perception that politicians are neck-deep in illegal mining and are frustrating the fight.

Even the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining has not been free from scandals.

Its secretary, Charles Bissue, resigned after an undercover investigation implicated him.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service concluded in their report that Mr Bissue did not circumvent laid down processes.

This was after President Akufo-Addo called for a probe into the matter following a documentary by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.