Deputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu has warned that the fight against illegal mining, known as galamsey, risks collapsing if urgent and decisive action is not taken within the year.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, April 29, he said delays and weak coordination among state institutions are undermining efforts to tackle the problem.
“One of the big challenges we have seen with this fight against galamsey is that the government has made NAIMOS that overall institution… enacting the police commands… to sit down and not take any action,” he said.
Mr Bosu criticised the lack of involvement of local police, noting that illegal mining continues openly in many communities without intervention.
“You go to communities… mining is happening in broad daylight, but the police are sitting idle,” he stated.
He added that officers are often seen focusing on routine duties instead.
“You’d rather see the police standing on the roadside checking vehicle licences… because they’ve not been instructed… to take action,” he said, describing the situation as one that “doesn’t make sense”.
According to him, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has been left to lead the fight alone, despite limited resources.
“Only NAIMOS is seen as a frontline agency… trying to get rid of all of these miners on our rivers and our forests,” he said.
He pointed out that the current approach is strained and unlikely to succeed without broader support.
“You’re definitely constrained, inadequately resourced… so that job is definitely going to struggle,” he said.
Mr Bosu warned that illegal mining continues to spread across the country, putting pressure on natural resources.
“Our water bodies, our forest reserves, our communities… they are still coming under siege,” he said.
“Almost every day we get reports… because miners are moving there,” he added.
While acknowledging some progress, he cautioned that similar gains in the past were not sustained.
“In 2017 and 2018, we had similar successes… the miners stopped for a while… but these are not efforts that were sustained enough,” he recalled.
He said the return of illegal miners after earlier crackdowns shows the need for long-term commitment.
“We saw these people come back with even much more impunity than before,” he said.
Mr Bosu said that the coming months present a critical window to act before political activities begin to shift attention away from the issue.
“Beyond this year, if we don’t really nip this galamsey in the bud, that is the end of it,” he warned.
“Beyond this year, if we don’t nip galamsey in the bud, we cannot really do anything… very, very difficult,” he added.
He pointed out that the country is approaching an election cycle, which could slow down efforts.
“Next year, we are getting into the election mode… and everybody is going to take their eyes off the ball,” he said.
“So practically, you have just about eight months to solve the age-old problem of galamsey,” he added, urging swift and sustained action.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com