Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has stated illegal miners commonly known as galamseyers must be seen as dangerous terrorists who are killing us.
The Lands minister noted that a few people cannot be allowed to make money at the expense of killing millions of Ghanaians.
Speaking at a Press conference on Thursday, April 3, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah stated, “We can’t allow few people to make money at the expense of millions of Ghanaians and kill us, we must now begin to see them as dangerous terrorists who are killing us”.
“You cannot have a country where your water systems are so polluted that the turbidity levels are 5,000 to 12,000 when it should be 500, it means we are drinking poison,” he bemoaned.
He further added, “If anybody wants to do genuine small-scale mining, this government is committed to guiding them, giving them licenses, and guiding them on the path of doing small-scale mining in a more responsible and sustainable manner,” he said.
“This is what must be a collective fight”, he added.
The Lands minister further revealed government plans to fight galamsey, he stated government will begin geotagging and geofencing excavators imported into Ghana.
“We believe that this programme of geotagging and geofencing must be expanded to include excavators as soon as they arrive at the ports. It doesn’t make any sense that the third most valuable item we import into this country, worth 6.2 billion cedis, is excavators,”
“These machines are brought here to destroy our forest reserves, pollute our water bodies, and harm our people. This must stop,” he stated boldly.
Meanwhile, a Police officer has reportedly drowned during an anti-galamsey operation at Assin Asaman.
The police officer has been identified as Constable John Kwabena Dogbe.
According to reports, Constable John Kwabena Dogbe tragically lost his life this morning after drowning in the Offin River at Assin Asaman in a high stakes anti-galamsey operation.
The information gathered reveals Constable John Kwabena Dogbe’s body was recovered from the river after a four-hour search.
According to sources Constable Dogbe slipped and drowned when the Police team attempted to evacuate and destroy the equipment that was being used in the illegal mining activities, including a changfang and water pumping machines.
Some Ghanaians have reacted to the news of the Police officer drowning, saying, “ Seriously speaking, I think the military will have to be deployed to shoot and kill. No question to ask, no dialogue, just kill anyone you find in our forestry, final. This nonsense must stop”.
Another X user called on President John Mahama to declare a state of emergency on Galamsey, “ We need a state of emergency declared on Galampsey. We have army officers at various Barracks who are happy to jump on foreign missions but are not being utilized domestically to fight such a menace in our country. @JDMahama we need a more radical approach to curbing Galampsey”.
One X user also stated, “So swimming isn’t a requirement for police enrollment? It should be one of the basics to know it’s a survival skill for that profession”.
Additionally, another stated, “Ghana Navy? Ghana Army? The Lands and Natural Resources Minister said yesterday that the galamseyers are terrorists so why aren’t we seeing military-style action in this fight? @ArmahKofiBuah We’re really playing with fire with this approach.
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