President John Mahama has cautioned that his administration will escalate its efforts to combat illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
He noted that the government’s strategy will transition from targeting low-level operatives to focusing on the influential financiers and masterminds behind Ghana’s destructive illegal mining crisis.
In his State of the Nation Address to Parliament, President Mahama characterised illegal mining as a “grave threat” to the nation’s environmental integrity, water resources, public health, and national security.
He conceded that prior enforcement initiatives have frequently failed to apprehend those most culpable.
“Mr Speaker, prosecution of persons engaged in illegal mining has been intense,” President Mahama said.
He reiterated that there was the need for authorities to move beyond targeting its approach “behind Galamsey operations, rather than targeting only the little fish, low-level offenders.”
“Mr Speaker, in all these Galamsey operations, there are big fish who never get caught,” the President declared, signalling a significant change in strategy.
He announced that the government will now focus
on the deployment of specialised prosecutorial teams tasked with prosecuting the top individuals who are behind galamsey.
According to him, there are 140 communities, particularly towns and villages, that are highly prone to these illegal mining activities.
“Specialised prosecutorial teams have been deployed to fast-track illegal mining cases, ensure the effective presentation of evidence, and pursue the confiscation and forfeiture of equipment and proceeds used in or derived from illegal mining.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
