By King Amoah
The 2nd National Vice President of the National Association for Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) Hon Daniel Kwaku Mensah popularly known as DKM has launched a scathing critique against the government’s strategy for combating illegal mining (galamsey) alleging the widespread complicity among the security forces.
In an exclusive interview with the Correspondent Hon DKM who also serves as the former Amansie West Small Scale Miners Association Chairman and currently the Assembly Member for Manso Moseaso Electoral Area contends that relying on soldiers and police for anti-galamsey operations is a waste of time and national resources.
This is because both the soldiers and police have an alleged strong links with the illegal miners, and that their presence at the galamsey sites cannot yield any positive impact on the state.
The NALAG’s boss comments come on the heels of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources’ recent distribution of 10 pickups to the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations (NAIMOS) .
According to him what matters most in the current fight against the illegal mining is the active involvement of the Assembly members, District Chief Executives, Traditional Authorities and opinion leaders who serve as the direct focal personalities who can crusade against the galamsey when power is given to them.
Hon DKC opined that through the aforementioned personalities the galamsey fight can be realized since proper attention would be given to it
Hon Daniel Kweku Mensah recalled that during president John Dramani Mahama’s previous administration in 2012 he used the same military and police to fight against galamsey but nothing positive came out of it until he was democratically overthrown by the Npp government in in 2020.
Akuffo Addo he said also came on board but he woefully failed to address the illegal mining menance after spending several millions of cedis on the Task force team assigned to fight against galamsey.
Currently the National Democratic Congress has resurfaced with the agenda to end the illegal mining but Hon Daniel Mensah wanted to know that after Mahama’s previous failure what is the real strategy he would use to succeed whilst galamsey escalates than before.
Hon Daniel Mensah said it is against this background hence he advocates for the active involvement of Assemblymembers, traditional authorities, District Chief Executives anf opinion leaders to take up the challenge to ensure that the the galamsey fight becomes reality.
Arguing his point Hon DKM flatly dismissed the Minister’s move of distributing pick ups by stating unequivocally that sharing pick-ups to NAIMOS and providing support to certain anti-galamsey teams under the guise of fighting the canker is a waste of time.
DKC said many Ghanaians believe that the Minister’s agenda of distributing vehicles to the Anti Galamsey Task Force Team cannot help the state to fight against galamsey considering the alleged strong ties between the illegal miners and the security, one can easily come to the conclusion that the exercise cannot be successful.
DKM observed that the current efforts would remain stalled and unsuccessful unless the government consults and empowers the local communities for action.
He specifically alleges that security forces frequently compromise operations by giving tip off to the illegal miners before they arrive at the sites.
You and I know that these soldiers and police who allegedly pretend to be fighting galamsey are rather friends to those practicing galamsey.
They allegedly have their contacts and no one would be fooled for these soldiers and police to get themselves arrested, Hon DKM asserted.
He stressed that whenever these so-called galamsey fighters are coming they place calls to give these galamseyers information even before they reach at the place to make it easier for the people to flee from the sites the former galamsey boss hinted.
He further revealed that it is only those illegal miners who don’t have the contacts of the the security are arrested and even these people are just few.
The NALAG official said while the machines they used to operate galamsey are very expensive no one would just operate without protecting his machines from seizure by the state security agencies.
Therefore efforts of flirting with the security is regarded as priority to every galamsey operator, Hon Daniel Mensah pointed out.
To succeed in the fight against galamsey we should also avoid politics in the exercise and remain transparent before our entire water bodies and Forest reserves are destroyed to the oblivion the outspoken Assemblyman pointed out.
