Kingsley Adumattah Agyapong, Chairman of the UK Branch of the Governing New Patriotic Party, also known as Wofa K, has expressed the view that individuals arrested at galamsey sites are often not the primary perpetrators.
The politician noted that the real masterminds are the ones with the resources who use their influence and political power to engage these young men in their bidding.
He argued that the majority of these young people who are usually arrested are just ‘small flies’ who have no form of livelihood and have therefore engaged in these activities as a means to survive.
He described the masterminds as “galamsey criminals” who are engaging in criminality and destroying our water bodies and forest reserves for their selfish interests.
He said we cannot pretend to deal with this if these young people are not granted alternative livelihoods.
Wofa K suggested that every malaria-prone area should have systems in place that will grant the youth involved opportunities to have a different alternative to life.
Kingsley Adumattah Agyapong maintained that even if the government would go in for a loan to roll out this initiative, it would in the long term address the issue.
“This is not the first time I am making this point. You cannot fight the galamsey when these young people involved do so because they have no other source of livelihood or alternative livelihood. After we’ve won the 2016, I proposed this initiative as a form of approach in dealing with the problem. I am taking about when we won the 2016 elections. I have argued that we have to locate every galamsey-prone area and introduce this initiative.
I have also gathered that a lot of foreigners from other countries have joined the illegal mining activities. The point is that these young people who are Ghanaians who engage in these activities are usually not the ones behind the galamsey. We have the criminals of Galamsey who have the resources and wield political power. Those are the criminals of Galamsey,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
