I’ll not spare chiefs involved in ‘galamsey’ – Otumfuo

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei II has served notice to punish any of his sub-chiefs caught engaging in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

The overlord of the Asante Kingdom is backing the government’s renewed fight against the menace by ensuring that traditional leaders are not complicit.

“On my part, I have already warned my chiefs and elders against participation in such illegalities, and I will not hesitate to strongly sanction such infraction,” he stated.

“As a chief, if you give out your lands to be used for galamsey, then what kind of chief are you?” he questioned.

He revealed that he had already received reports of such activities in Amansie and Fomena, which were currently under investigation.

The Asantehene presented a keynote address to commence the Ashanti Regional Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining in Kumasi.

Speaking at KNUST’s Great Hall on Wednesday, May 12, he pointed out that 30 per cent of the audience at the dialogue can identify people involved in galamsey.

“If we don’t speak the truth, we will keep deceiving ourselves with countless dialogues to no avail”.

He said small scale mining was legal and contributed about 40 per cent of Ghana’s gold production.

However, it is fraught with many challenges with a thin line between illegal mining.

The dialogue follows the maiden edition held in Accra.

The Asantehene called on the government to involve traditional authorities because they are custodians of communal lands.

Furthermore, he called for a change in the issuance of mining licenses by state authorities without involving chiefs from areas where the activities would take place.

“It will be most prudent when traditional authorities are consulted before licences are given out,” he stated, describing the current procedure as a “mockery”.

He was emphatic that illegal mining was “unsustainable, unacceptable and must be stopped”.

He stressed that Asanteman is opposed to anything that destroys the environment and ecosystem, which puts a threat on the survival of communities.

He wants the government to integrate the sector with the rest of the economy to catapult Ghana into accelerated development through opening avenues to add value to minerals extracted, creating feedstock for the agricultural, industrial and services sectors.

He upheld small-scale mining conducted properly and responsibly within the legal framework designed to enhance the needs of mining communities.

Additionally, he called for the involvement of legal small-scale miners to provide solutions to the current problems.

He said small scale miners “know the illegal miners”.

Hence, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources should consult the Minerals Commission for the list of small-scale miners.

“All others are illegal miners, and the security agencies should be sent to flush them out,” he added.

He called for bold and honest leadership devoid of greed and dishonesty in tackling the menace.

The dialogue provides the opportunity to make inputs in the national discourse on the regularisation of the small-scale mining sector.

Authorities intend to achieve that by coordinating diverse views to help develop appropriate policy options with the overarching good of improving the operation, regulation, management and governance of the sector.

The artisanal and small-scale mining for gold contributes at least a third of the total gold produced in Ghana.

The sector provides jobs, creates opportunities to support rural livelihoods, entrepreneurship and provide sources of development minerals such as clay, kaolin and limestone.

Deployment of 400 soldiers for ‘Operation Halt’

In recent times, Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing a crisis because of the ripple effects of the activities of illegal miners.

The government has subsequently launched ‘Operation Halt’ in a renewed fight with the deployment of 400 military men to ensure no mining occurs within 100meters of river banks.

The team commenced operations on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, on the River Pra in the Central and Western Regions.

Over 500 pieces of equipment used in illegal mining (galamsey) close to water bodies have been destroyed after phase two of the operations.

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

The equipment destroyed includes excavators, changfangs, industrial pumping machines, and dredging equipment.

Small-scale miners fight back

Meanwhile, 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.

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”.

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

What necessitated the galamsey fight

Over the years, there has 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.