Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse the CEO of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has stated brute force is needed in the fight against illegal miners commonly known as galamsey.
According to Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, she just needs two weeks to eliminate all those polluting our water bodies.
The EPA boss is quoted by UTV to have said, “All I need is five helicopters, a couple of guns, and just two weeks to eliminate all those polluting our waterbodies”.
She further added, “Galamsey has been declared as a war. So, why are we not approaching it as a war? EPA needs resources to go to the war front. The galamseyers are operating on the waterbodies fully armed but EPA staff are not armed. Those engaging in monitoring from the Forestry Commission are also not armed”.
“Anytime we go for an operation, we have to go along with the military and National Security which is expensive. How many times can we afford to pay them to go out with us? That is where the problem is. So, we need a comprehensive plan. My vision is to clean up our water bodies, which is heavily contaminated to about 90% . I believe we can fight this much better than we are doing now,” The EPA CEO added.
In a related story, the Ghana Police Service has arrested forty-nine (49) individuals for engaging in illegal mining activities at multiple locations across the country.
The arrests form part of intensified efforts to combat illegal mining.
According to reports, the operations took place in the Western Region (Huniso, Wassa-Dadieso, and Wassa-Gyapa), the Ashanti Region (Akrokerri), the Central Region (Dunkwa-On-Offin and Diaso), and the Eastern Region, specifically along the Awin River at Pankese and Akyem Akwadum.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama at the Global Mining Summit held in Accra on Monday, June 2 stated, “Let me be clear at this juncture, artisanal miners are not enemies of the state. If properly trained and supported, they can be allies in our development,” the President said, adding “Working together with the small-scale mining sector, we will reclaim our forest reserves and restore the purity of our water bodies.”
“We will track excavators to know whether they are being used for illegal mining. Ghana currently has more excavators than the rest of Africa combined. The new permitting regime will not allow you to import any excavator unless you have a valid permit to do so,” Mahama stated.
Additionally, the Asantehene at the event also called for sustained action to halt the illegal activities.
“The pollution of our water bodies, the destruction of our forests and the degradation of our virgin lands cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. It cannot be denied that the cocktail of regulatory failures, political miscalculation and corruption has combined to make the curbing of the menace more challenging.
We have the opportunity to calmly dissect the policy options and tools available to deal with the problem,” he said.
He added, “The emergence of the new Goldbod is a creative initiative we need for the rise of the industry, increasing the prospect for more investment and higher yields. It injects a new urgency to the challenges we are trying to address”.
See the post below:
All I need is five helicopters, a couple of guns, and just two weeks to eliminate all those polluting our waterbodies. – Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, CEO of Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)#UTVGhana pic.twitter.com/T8JLea8382
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) June 2, 2025
