George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has said the military cannot stop galamsey.
The deputy minister believes the solution to fight galamsey rests on the shoulders of every Ghanaian and added that the military approach has failed to deliver.
Duker said, “Successive governments have tried to use the military to fight galamsey, but none of them succeeded. This shows that militarization of the galamsey fight won’t provide a long-term solution”
“We are the ones who can solve the galamsey problem. The solution to the menace is not the deployment of the military. The solution lies in all of us showing commitment and willingness to protect our rivers and water bodies”. Mireku Duker reiterated.
He added, “It has been done in other countries, so we are the ones who can solve it. We can form community watchdogs to protect our water bodies”.
Meanwhile, in a press statement dated yesterday, October 9, 2024, President Akufo-Addo directed the Minister for Defense to deploy additional military forces to intensify the ongoing “Operation Halt”, which aims to curb illegal mining activities.
