Otumfuo: Fight Against Galamsey Is Bogus

The overlord of the Asante kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has described as deceptive the government’s fight against illegal mining otherwise known as “galamsey”.

His Majesty decried the government’s purported fight against the menace when a delegation from the Multimedia Group presented a copy of its recent documentary on illegal mining dubbed “Destruction for Gold” to him.

The delegation included Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor, the General Manager of the Kumasi Business Office, Jimmy Aglah, and News editor Kofi Adu Domfeh.

The documentary which was composed by Erastus, a journalist with the media network, features the destruction caused to the country’s various river bodies as a result of the menace.

Presenting the documentary to the King, Erastus said “I was sent out to monitor how the government’s fight against illegal mining was going. We worked on that for four months. We visited a lot of places including the Western region, Ashanti region, and Eastern Region.

“We visited River Tano, Ankobea, and all the places where the illegal mining activities destroying the water bodies are ongoing. We have bought a copy to our Lord because he has authority to help in dealing with it.”

In reaction to this, the king affirmed that the menace is sponsored by politicians, government appointees, and businessmen, however, punishments are meted out to the poor galamseyer who receives peanut wages from the act.

He called the government’s fight against the act “bogus”.

“I will go through the work done and know what to do about it” he began. “Ghanaians are the ones leading the Chinese. We pretend we don’t know the people behind it but they do. They go out there to arrest and take pictures of the men soiled in mud and tell us they have arrested galamseyers”.

He went on, “Who took away the gold? Doesn’t the gold pass through the various borders before leaving the country?”

He recalled that mining was undertaken in pre-colonial times as well as in the colonial era, however, the country’s forest reserves and water bodies were not destroyed as is the case now.

His majesty is concerned about the fact that the country’s cash crop- cocoa- may be banned from the international market due the illegal mining activities whose effects are affecting the quality of the lands and cocoa.

The concern of Otumfuo resonates with a clarion call by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah to the effect that Europe has established a law that could render the cocoa and coffee from Ghana “unexportable” to the international markets.

Under the new law, it was reported that the European Union (EU) will not buy cocoa beans from deforested cocoa farmlands.

The Asantehene has used various platforms to vent out his displeasure about illegal mining and the hypocritical fight against it.

Such was in May 2021 during a Regional Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining.

“Before I read the speech, I have some concerns to raise. Yesterday the Regional Minister (Simon Osei Mensah) and my son Jinapor came and asked that I go by the script because they think I will say something that will expose. I told them they know the ones behind galamsey. 30% of the people present now know the ones behind illegal mining activities here. About 30% of people present here are engaged in galamsey. We deceive ourselves with conferences like this one.”

Another was during a courtesy call by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer on October 1.

“If we create a system where we say we will stop it {galamsey} to the extent that the President puts his Presidency on the line, and yet it is going on, then to me something is wrong somewhere…And people know those behind galamsey. They are working in these communities with the natives.

“Unfortunately unemployment may be the problem but that shouldn’t warrant the destruction of the environment. That’s not the alternative. We all need to find out what went wrong…To me, galamsey hasn’t been stopped because there is some authority somewhere involved which I am against.”

Another was during the Regional House of Chief’s meeting on October 14 where he chided the chiefs for their role and inactions in illegal mining.

“Are you not aware that people are using excavators to mine and destroy the environment, and that the government is struggling with the fight? You’ve sworn an oath of allegiance to be the custodian of Essumenja, Asokore, as Asokorehene to be my representative. When you pass by galamsey sites with your cars and flags hoisted on them, don’t you see the destruction?”

“Have you ever informed me that your water bodies are being destroyed and your people can’t get water to drink?”

Government’s Supposed Fight Against Galamsey
On October 5, during an engagement with the National House of Chiefs, President Akufo-Addo admitted his government’s failure in the battle against illegal mining termed as “galamsey” in the country.

He claimed that the fight nearly cost him his position as president during the 2020 elections.

“It has not been easy, it has not been popular and we have not got the immediate results that I was looking for. Indeed in the last elections of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities.”

The government’s failure at this, he said, is despite numerous initiatives it has introduced.

“We have tried many initiatives including that of the Community Mining Scheme, and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon which has imposed severe sanctions on those Ghanaians and foreigners convicted of illegal mining.”

“Still we have not won the fight”, he submitted.

This was followed by the announcement of the relaunch of Operation Halt II, a military operation that clamps down on illegal mining on various water bodies and in forest reserves in Ghana by the Minister for Lands and natural resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor on October 13.

Among the other measures adopted by the government, he said, include the declaration of river bodies as red zones for mining; suspension of reconnaissance and prospecting activities in forest reserves except in exceptional cases; and the banning of the manufacture, sale and use of changfan.

Also are the procurement of speed boats to patrol the rivers; recruitment of river guards to support the protection of the rivers; introduction of mercury-free gold Katchas; establishment of 83 Small Scale Mining Committees in all mining districts in the country; revamping of Community Mining Schemes; and the introduction of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme, the Graphic Online reported.

Additionally, the new measures empower military personnel undertaking Operation Halt II to do so at their discretion and without interference.

Chiefs will now play key roles in the issuance of mining licences, he said.

Effect Of Galamsey
The menace is threatening not just the country’s forest reserves and water bodies but also the country’s cash crops- cocoa and coffee.

Reports indicate that some farmers have already begun selling off their cocoa farms to galamseyer in rural areas.

Samples of water from some of the river bodies in Ghana fetched by JoyNews showed massive pollution of the country’s waters.

River Tano, Nwui, Offin, Bonsa, Bia, Ankobra, Amoya, Afu Afu and Totoa streams have changed colours according to the samples fetched by JoyNews.

Pressure group Occupy Ghana has called on the President to declare a state of emergency at all mining sites in Ghana, a call that has garnered much support from some industry players.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini