Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the Defence Minister nominee has stated Ghana’s galamsey fight should not be viewed purely through the lens of soldiers.
According to Dr Omane Boamah, there is a need for a comprehensive strategy to tackle illegal mining.
He asserted that illegal miners need to be engaged in other to create alternative livelihood initiatives for them.
Dr Boamah detailed that by providing sustainable opportunities, the number of individuals involved in galamsey could be substantially decreased, which will ease the burden on law enforcement.
Speaking during his vetting by the Appointments Committee on Tuesday, January 28, Dr Boamah stated, “The fight against galamsey should not be viewed purely through the lens of soldiers going to fight it, we need to engage the people and inform them of the other livelihood programmes and their benefits”.
Dr Omane Boahmah further suggested that a combination of modern technology and strategic military involvement would strengthen efforts to combat the illegal activities.
He added, “So the numbers will reduce, and those that will be left won’t overwhelm the police, We need to fight galamsey as a comprehensive thing and bring in the military in addition to modern technology to help them deal with it”.
