The Ashanti regional secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), Michael Adu Gyamfi, has disclosed that members are being intimidated by persons claiming to be from the National Security.
He said these individuals, dressed in military uniforms, threaten to burn their escalators and other equipment if they do not pay bribes.
He alleged that these persons demand between Ghc20,000 to Ghc200,000. Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said, “The intimidation of our members is alarming. Persons dressed in military uniforms go to our members demanding bribes. They demand from Ghc25,000 to Ghc200,000”.
He said that, in about five instances, it has emerged that nobody has authorised these persons to engage in what they are doing.
Michael Adu Gyamfi stated that, at a point, some of these persons dressed as soldiers claimed that their party was in office and so they had to also make money.
“They come in armed, claiming that their party is in power, so they have to ‘chop,’ and in some cases, they extort as much as GHC 200,000 from our members,” he stated. “These people even go to the extent of shooting at miners, leading to injuries.”
According to him, the association has received multiple complaints from its members across the Ashanti Region, who have encountered these unauthorised operations on at least four to five occasions.
Michael Adu Gyamfi appealed to the government to investigate and take immediate action against these alleged security operatives.
He warned that failure to deal with this could result in chaos and affect the fight against illegal mining.
“We are appealing to the president to take immediate action since the activities of these individuals will undermine his fight against illegal mining.”
He concluded that some political leaders affiliated with the ruling government are also behind the deployment of these soldiers.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
