President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the kingpins behind illegal mining, popularly called galamsey in Ghana, will soon be arrested and prosecuted.
He said the government is committed to saving the environment and will continue to arrest more culprits in the galamsey menace to serve as a deterrent to others, who are polluting water bodies and destroying arable lands.
“Distribution, manufacturing and sale of chanfung are now illegal, as part of measures, we have increased significantly the level of sanctions against people who engage in galamsey.
“Today, Ghanaians who get involve will get a 15-year minimum sentence if convicted and foreigners will get as long as 25-year imprisonment if convicted,” Akufo-Addo said in an interview in the lead up to his three-day tour of the Eastern region.
He said the laws will be strengthened and used to protect the environment.
The president said the government will continue to use advocacy tools to effect changes in mining communities, adding that “in a democratic dispensation, if you want a change the first thing to do is advocacy to change public opinion.”
Nana Akufo-Addo said the fight against galamsey under ‘Operation Halt’ has been given a boost and will continue unabated.
“The problem was that we disengaged too quickly, once the first plot has gone through, this year we have decided to use the whole year to maintain Operation Halt, especially, the fight on our river bodies,” he said.
“Surveyors have taken charge of impactful machines, excavators and chanfung and they are being destroyed because it is our major problem in our mining.”
Although Ghana requires permits to mine on a small scale, it is estimated that about 70% of small-scale miners are unregistered and operate illegally. They are known locally as galamsey, meaning to “gather and sell”.
While illegal mining supports livelihoods, it has caused severe damage to the environment. It is blamed for destruction of farmlands and pollution of water bodies. It also denies the state revenue: an estimated US$2.3 billion in 2016, reports The Conversation.
Source: asaaseradio.com
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Someone should tell the man Ghanaians no longer take him seriously. When he speaks people laugh at him. He has lost all credibility. He should do what ever pleases him. By January 8, 2025 he would have left the jubilee house for Ghana's reconstruction to start. If you like don't even go to office, who cares. Your absence and presence have no positive impact on the people . It's even better when you are outside Ghana. Left to me, take 2 years leave with pay and stay outside the jurisdiction, you will still get your salary. On January 7, 2025 you can come and handover. Anytime people see you their pain increases. We don't want anybody to electrocute himself again. 1 dollar GHC 15.00 . If Kufuor had not taken off 4 zeros from the cedi, can you imagine the amount of cedis that would have gone for 1 dollar? Remember GHC 1 today was C 10,000.00 cedis before redenomination in 2007. This is how far Ghana has been brought to its knees.
Still promising.