The Deputy Executive Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bossu, has criticised the government’s approach to fighting illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Mr Bossu said the problem continues to grow because existing laws are not being properly enforced. He noted that enforcement is an important part of efforts to stop illegal mining.
Speaking during an interview, he said the state has been too lenient in dealing with galamsey.
“We treat Galamsey with kid gloves compared to other situations that this country is also confronted with,” he said.
Mr Bossu also said weak enforcement could make other efforts to tackle galamsey less effective. These include formalising the sector, modernising mining activities and providing miners with the right equipment.
He further criticised the centralised approach to enforcement, saying it has made it difficult for the state to provide strong leadership in mining communities.
“Enforcement has been very lackadaisical. Enforcement has been centralised instead of decentralised,” Mr Bossu said.
According to him, the continued spread of illegal mining is linked to years of what he described as “systematic negligence, systematic error of non-enforcement and non-compliance”.
He said the problem has now become too deep to be solved through one-off measures.
Mr Bossu maintained that Ghana needs stronger enforcement and better compliance, together with other measures, to make real progress in the fight against illegal mining.
