Amewu to fight galamsey with drones … says “mining in river bodies cannot continue; it is criminal, cruel & wicked”

From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Obuasi

The Minister of Lands and Forestry, Mr John Peter Amewu, has hinted that the government would soon start using drones and other modern technology to fight illegal mining in Ghana, to ensure the protection of water bodies.

Illegal mining, known in our local parlance as ‘galamsey’, has polluted almost all the water bodies in the country. This has resulted in the drying up of these water bodies, making it virtually impossible for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to get water for treatment and supply to the people.

Mr John Peter Amewu, who disclosed this during a visit to the AngloGold Ashanti Mine (AGA) at Obuasi last Friday, said the government was talking to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to plant trackers into earth-moving equipment, which are used to pollute water bodies in Ghana by illegal miners, who are operating deep inside our forests.

The Minister was accompanied by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Lands and Forestry Select Committee, Benito Owusu-Bio, Prof Bruce Banoeng-Yakubu, Chief Director at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and other officials of the ministry.

Minister Amewu noted that about 40 to 60% of the earth-moving equipment brought into Ghana for construction purposes are not found on the roads, according to research findings available to him.

He revealed: “They are in the deep forest excavating into our water bodies. We are going to put tracking devices on them to see how we will identify these people at particular spots.”

He continued that talks are being held to engage drone companies to address the pollution of water bodies.

“Very soon, we will take one river and do a demonstration along that river body to see how we can take these people out. “We will fly the drones along them, as a monitoring device, with police post along them, like the marine police, to monitor it,” he said.

The visibly worried Minister stressed: “Mining in the river bodies cannot continue; it is criminal, cruel and wicked.”

The sector Minister indicated that the government would soon come out with ideas to see how it could regularise the activities of illegal miners, adding that regularisation includes bringing them to a stakeholder discussion group, and making sure that these activities are done in a humane manner.

He also indicated that the Akufo-Addo government has launched a three-four-year project -Multilateral Mining Integration Project (MMIP) – which seeks to regularise or bring back those illegal activities and reform them.

According to Mr Amewu, one way of addressing the issue was to introduce some level of minimum exploration, identify blocks that are prospective, and bring the illegal miners in a form of out-grower concept with the level of exploration, adding that “we are thinking of introducing a plant pool, where they will have an ability to go in and procure some of the plants with government assistance.”

The Minister continued that the government was very much interested in seeing that AGA was brought back to life in Obuasi. The government is currently engaging workers, management and senior staff to see what the alternatives are.

He was emphatic that huge investments had been done in the mines in the past one year, new facilities installed, and new site offices being built. All this investment cannot go to waste.

Mr. Amewu indicated that mining activity in Ghana is declining, whereas it is increasing in Sub-Sahara Africa, such as in Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and others, and stressed that “the closure of AGA has soiled the reputation of Ghana in the mining world.”

He warned: “If the environment is not going to be conducive to attract investors to venture into further exploration, then, of course, as a country, we should begin to forget about sustainable mining.”

He mentioned that the revival of AGA was important to the local, national economy and international reputation of Ghana.

The Minister explained that when the mine was shut down, there was a lot of public outcry, and the international community’s concern, because this mine took into consideration some people’s pension funds they had invested internationally, and so, if out of no cause of their own, they

have to lose that investment, it does not speak well for Ghana.

He assured Ghanaians that “government is determined to revive AGA. We want to see life back, and we are just doing that, by engaging the various stakeholders.”

Responding to a question as to how government intends to stop chronic illegal mining, Amewu stated that the NPP agenda about mining is to make sure mining is done in a more sustainable and environmental friendly manner

 

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“Our water bodies are being polluted. Our forests are being depleted, and even the health of those individuals are also at risk,” he noted, and announced that “illegal mining is not anything that we are going to entertain, especially those that are mined in the river bodies.

“It is a criminal activity, and efforts are in place to make sure that citizens desist from mining in the waters, and that the practice cannot be accepted in Ghana again.”

The Minister warned that very soon the law would catch up with politicians, chiefs, elders and opinion leaders in communities who encourage illegal mining.

Asked if the government will not be selective in the fight against illegal mining, Minister Amewu stressed: “We are not here to protect NPP members or any politician,” and explained that an NPP person who thinks that his government is in power, has no right to go and degrade the environment. “No matter which government is in place, we are here to do the right thing,” he stated.

“There is a new government. The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is so passionate about this environmental degradation.”

“In his Sixth State of the Nation Address, he continued to hammer on the environment. What are we doing to ourselves and the environment?  We are not going to take it lightly at all. Nobody should say I belong to NPP, so I can do galamsey,” he said.

Nana Kwame Pensan, Adansi Kusahene, refuted the claim that traditional leaders are the brains behind illegal mining in Ghana.

His argued that traditional leaders have no power to drive galamseyers away, and suggested that the police and military should move in to stop their illicit activities.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Benito Owusu-Bio, who doubles as Member of Parliament for Atwima Nwabiagya North, called on Ghanaians to support the fight against illegal mining.

Briefing the media after the Minister’s official visit to the AGA mine, the Managing Director of AGA, Mr. Eric Asubonteng, disclosed that 12,000 direct illegal miners invaded the multinational firm, which contributed to the closure of the mine at a huge cost to stakeholders of the mine and the health of illegal miners.

Managing Director Asubonteng thanked Minister Amewu and his team for paying AGA a visit.

Pix: The Minister, Parliamentary Committee members and team in a pose

with AGA officials

 

The post Amewu to fight galamsey with drones … says “mining in river bodies cannot continue; it is criminal, cruel & wicked” appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Obuasi The Minister of Lands and Forestry, Mr John Peter Amewu, has hinted that the government would soon start using drones and other modern technology to fight illegal mining in Ghana, to ensure the protection of water bodies. Illegal mining, known in our local parlance as ‘galamsey’, has polluted almost all the […]

The post Amewu to fight galamsey with drones … says “mining in river bodies cannot continue; it is criminal, cruel & wicked” appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

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