- Sections of Tarkwa Women’s Market have collapsed due to illegal mining beneath the site.
- Fiifi Boafo warns of ongoing galamsey activity and criticizes NADMO’s response.
- Traders and customers face serious safety risks.
- Stakeholders call for urgent intervention and structural assessment.
- Galamsey’s impact now threatens lives and public infrastructure.
Parts of the Tarkwa Women’s Market have caved in following illegal mining operations beneath the site, sparking serious safety concerns for traders and customers.
Fiifi Boafo, a former Office Manager at the Chief Executive Office of Cocoa Board and a resident of Tarkwa, has raised alarm over the structural damage caused by underground galamsey. He revealed that despite the collapse, illegal miners continue their activities directly beneath the market.
Boafo criticized the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) for its response, describing it as inadequate. He argued that simply directing miners to fill the affected area fails to address the deeper structural risks or protect the lives of the women who depend on the market for their livelihoods.
The Tarkwa Women’s Market is a major commercial hub, and any further collapse could result in fatalities and disrupt economic activity in the mining town. Stakeholders are now urging the Minerals Commission, local authorities, and security agencies to halt all mining operations in the area and conduct a full structural assessment.
Boafo’s warning adds to growing public concern over the impact of galamsey, which has already devastated water bodies and farmlands — and is now threatening critical public infrastructure.
