President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the laws criminalising illegal mining popularly known as galamsey would be enforced regardless of the nationality of the people involved in the act.
He noted that the fight against the menace was not a witch-hunt of Chinese but to stop wrong-doing and save the environment from the harmful effects of galamsey.
He said this in response to a request by the Obomenghene, Nana Affah Opinamang III, for the government to address the galamsey menace which had become a canker in the country.
The President was at a ceremony at Obomeng in the Eastern Region on Saturday, April 15, to officially introduce Nana Opinamang as the new Chief of Obomeng following his installation in 2015.
Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that “We don’t have any problem with Chinese nationals. We are not targeting any person or group, but what we want is for our laws to work. The laws of Ghana must be enforced, whether you are a foreigner or a Ghanaian.”
Assuring Ghanaians of his determination to fight illegal mining, the President said his administration was committed to dealing with the galamsey menace once and for all.
He said “I will be meeting the sector Minister to discuss the galamsey menace extensively and hopefully, in the coming days, you will see the changes”.
Nana Opinamang applealed to the President to help address the challenges hindering the development of Kwahu including indiscriminate felling of trees by chainsaw operators, poor road network, lack of access to potable water and illegal mining.
He noted that Kwahu Easter festivities could lose their relevance unless measures were taken to address developmental challenges in the area.
In another development, Mr. John Peter Amewu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, says the increased campaign against illegal mining by the media and Civil Society Organisations was yielding fruitful results as “there is the apparent fall in small-scale gold production”.
“Our records at the Mineral Marketing Company (NMC) indicate that there is a fall in terms of production, and this shows that there is a fall in small-scale production”, he said.
Speaking at the launch of Stop Galamsey Now”, at Mpraeso in the Eastern Region, Mr. Amenu said the government had received 75 excavators from miners in the Western Region who voluntarily turned the equipment in.
He hinted of comprehensive strategy by government to tackle the galamsey menace which include putting in place an alternative livelihood for illegal miners as soon as their operations were stopped.
