‘Lift the veil on ownership of galamsey equipment’ – Dr. Khalid to security agencies
Economic Adviser to the Vice-President, Dr. Sharif Mahmud Khalid, has urged state security and legal institutions to launch a coordinated probe to trace and expose those behind the importation and ownership of excavators and Changfans used in illegal mining operations.
Speaking in an interview, Dr. Khalid said lifting the “veil of ownership” is critical to dismantling the financial and logistical backbone of illegal mining.
“I will call on the security agencies and the legal institutes that are mandated to look at this to actually help us lift the veil of ownerships of these excavators—not just excavators and Changfans,” he said.
Dr. Khalid raised serious concerns about how Changfans, which are key equipment used in illegal mining, found their way into the country undetected.
“I do understand from recent conversations that there are locally manufactured Changfans, but before they could manufacture them locally, how could a Changfan get into this country? Through which port? Through which borders? These are all fundamental questions we need to ask our security agencies. When was the first Changfan smuggled into this country? How did it get in?” he asked.
He emphasised that the illegal mining fight must not rest solely on the shoulders of the President but should be a joint national security effort.
“This is where the state security agencies, the Immigration, the Customs among others should all come in, because I think this is not a fight that should be made a sole preserve of the President; it is a fight for all of us. It is a fight for all state agencies that ought to play a critical role in actually ending this menace,” Dr. Khalid added.
His comments come as the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) intensifies its clampdown on galamsey activities across the country.
Security experts have long warned that tackling galamsey requires disrupting the equipment supply chain and holding financiers accountable.