Some illegal miners who were trapped in a shaft belonging to the Anglogold Ashanti Mine have revealed how they survived inside the pit after having to spend some days underground.
According to a few of them who were trapped with over a hundred and fifty (150) others inside the pit, they had to survive on powdered pepper and onion when their food got exhausted.
For fear of being arrested and fined huge sums of money they couldn’t afford, they said they chose to stay underground than to use the main exit of the company to be arrested after their illegal point of entry had been blocked by AngloGold Ashanti’s security.
The incident occurred at the AngloGold’s Ashanti Mine’s shaft at Anwiam in the Obuasi East district of the Ashanti region.
The young men narrated their story Wednesday, June 7, 2023, when Onua TV/FM’s Maakye went to Obuasi with the Peoples’ Assembly.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Obuasi East, Faustina Amissah, has confirmed reports that personnel of the Ghana Armed Force were deployed to Obuasi over the commotion surrounding reports of illegal miners being trapped in a mine shaft belonging to AngloGold Ashanti.
On May 31, 2023, there was heavy military presence in the community after a viral video showed the men clashing with some residents of Obuasi.
According to the Obuasi East DCE, some illegal small-scale miners started pelting stones at the military officers protecting AngloGold, The Chronicle newspaper reports.
This, she said, forced the army to call reinforcement from its 2BN in Kumasi, to help its officers protect the workers of the company because the illegal miners were on rampage.
“They were stoning the soldiers because they have now realised that after all, AGA soldiers will or shout because of their corporate image are working on certain things to have a local soldier barracks,” she is quoted to have said in an interview with The Chronicle.
The DCE also said that only 101 illegal miners were trapped and not 300 as reported in the media and that all of these people have been arrested.
She was worried about the failure to stop the galamseyers from entering the mining pits of AngloGold Ashanti.
She warned that if people are not stopped from illegally entering the mine it might, one day, collapse; adding that “If not before we realise, we have to close down the mines again,” he said.
Twenty-six (26) persons have been arrested by the Operation Halt II team in a latest swoop targeted at illegal miners.
The 26 suspects were found operating at an illegal mining site, popularly known as galamsey, and also engaging in other poor environmental practices, at Patase, Wassa Dunkwa, in the Wassa Amenfi East District of the Western Region.
The suspects, including four Togolese, were found engaging in illegal mining, sand winning and lumbering in defiance of government’s ban placed on these activities that continued to wreak havoc on the environment and water bodies, including River Tano.
The Ghana Armed Forces deployed soldiers of all ranks to begin the second phase of ‘Operation Halt’ to rid the country’s water bodies of illegal miners. It is aimed at removing all logistics and persons involved in illegal mining on water bodies.
The arrest of the 26 suspects followed an order by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr George Mireku Duker, when he was accompanied by journalists and a team of “Operation HaltII” personnel aboard a Ghana Airforce aircraft to conduct an aerial assessment of ‘Operation Halt II, atWassaDunkwa.
The deputy minister also asked Kwasi Addae to produce a permit authorizing him to lumber at Patase.
“Send those suspects to the nearest Police station for prosecution. The law will be made to work to address the problem,” Mr. Duker instructed.
The operation led by General Officer Commanding, Southern Command, Brigadier General Michael Kwaku Amoah Ayisi and the Second-in-Command, Operation Halt 11, Lieutenant Colonel Harrison Dadzie, revealed an expanse area devasted by illegal mining atWassaDunkwa.
Aerial view of the site showed total destruction of the forest cover as the illegal miners had dug deep craters as big as three football fields with pools of stagnant water.
The galamseyers had also diverted the tributaries of River Tanoon, where they mounted ChanFan machines and generators to mine gold ore.
The long and labyrinthine river water, which looked dirty, bleak, brown and polluted, crisscrossed makeshift houses built along the river banks.
Additionally, trees in the rich, green and virgin forest had been felled to pave the way for illegal gold mining, posing a danger to farmers.
Soon as the team disembarked, they encountered a tipper truck at WassaDunkwa loaded with sand, and Mr Duker ordered the sand should be offloaded.
He condemned the uncontrolled sand winning at illegal mining sites, the galamsey site, where deep holes had been dug to aggravate the situation, and asked whether they would drink the very water they destroyed.
Mr. Duker told the suspects, “Drink the water; now you are afraid. You must stop this bad behaviour. You are destroying this beautiful country, the virgin environment, and the fish in the rivers. Why do you win sand and destroy the water bodies? If our forebearers had done these, we wouldn’t have come to meet these valuable national assets.”
Lt. Col. Dadzie noted that the suspects, who could not name the owner of the WassaDunkwa site, were the same people who win sand and fell lumber in the area and wondered how four Togolese found their way to Ghana.
Meanwhile, Brig. General Amoah-Ayisi has said that 11 offenders have been prosecuted and jailed so far.
A former Ranking Member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Inusah Fuseini, says illegal mining activities in the country are a result of the corrupt actions of the leaders.
According to him, both corruption and illegal mining require equal attention in eradicating them.
“What is happening in the mining sites is simply a manifestation of corruption. What has aggravated the situation is because of the corrupt activities of officials closer to government,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday.
Mr. Fuseini recounted that during his days as an active government official, he visited a community where he surprisingly saw about five Chang Fan machines on a river body.
He said the operations of the illegal miners were known by the District Chief Executive who was seemingly doing nothing to report the perpetrators and because it was illegal and occurred under the jurisdiction of the DCE, Mr Fuseini called for him to be removed from office.
He explained that illegal mining needs to be confronted as “a full enemy” because the activity threatens all aspects of the economy.
Ghana’s issue of illegal mining activities seems to be on the rise despite several calls on the government to help fight against it.
Although the government had indicated that there were no more Chang Fan machines on any of the river bodies, reports indicate that hundreds of these machines are still seen.
Mr Fuseini lamented that towns such as Obuase and Kibi where illegal mining activities are taking place currently are suffering the consequences.
“Anybody who visits hospitals in the mining areas will be left in no doubt that we have to do something against galamsey. When you go to Obuasi, when you go to Kibi, you’ll see deformities, babies born with deformities, I mean short limbs, abnormally big heads, and pregnancy complications,” he noted.
He, therefore, called for a multi-stakeholder engagement in the fight against the menace.
“But the primary responsibility lies with the government to be able to bring together all the stakeholders and to demonstrate that it is really committed,” he stressed.
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Lands and Forestry Committee, Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has pointed accusing fingers at the Government for boosting illegal miners.
His allegation comes after a series of attacks by illegal miners on legal gold mining firms in the country. The most recent one was when a group of illegal miners forcefully, took over portions of Anglo-Gold in the Ashanti Region.
Reacting to this situation on JoyNews’ PM Express, the legislator described it as terrible.
According to him, these happenings attest to the findings of former Environment Minister, Prof Kwabeng Frimpong Boateng – that indeed government officials are involved in the canker.
“Now it is logically the case that the government itself is involved and emboldening the illegal miners to do what they’re doing.
“It is so terrible, it is attacking the very nerve center of our gold industry, the legally acceptable companies that have taken license and have been given the right to mine are being attacked,” he said on Wednesday.
Dr Pelpuo further revealed that the government through the Minerals Commission has from 2021 to 2023 issued licenses to seven companies.
These companies he said have been identified mining in areas that have been declared red zone.
“And the reason I believe that the government is involved is that, in April 2021, the government declared that it was illegal to mine at forest reserves and river beds, however, between 2021 and 2023, seven licenses have been issued by the Minerals Commission to companies. And these companies have been spotted in these red zone areas.”
The Ghana Armed Forces reportedly deployed its personnel to Obuasi on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, over the commotion surrounding reports of illegal miners being trapped in a mine shaft belonging to AngloGold.
It is not clear why the military personnel were deployed but a video shared by Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV showed them trying to control an aggrieved crowd of people.
The army personnel arrived in some of their military vehicles and they were more than fifty in number.
They started firing warning shots after some residents started pelting stones at them.
The personnel could also be seen preventing some youth in civilian clothing from working towards certain directions.
There has been tension in Obuasi following news of over 300 illegal miners have been trapped in a mine shaft belonging to multinational mining giant AngloGold.
The incident according to a Citinewsroom.com report occurred at AngloGold’s Obuasi Mines at Anwiam in the Obuasi East District of the Ashanti Region.
The miners are said to have entered the underground shaft in search of gold deposits but have been trapped because all exit routes were subsequently shut.
One of the illegal miners, Ali Tijani who spoke to Citi News said some of his colleagues are unconscious as they have run out of food and water, the Citi News report stated.
Relations of the trapped minister, including their wives, on Tuesday, besieged the site where the illegal miners were supposed trapped carrying for them to be rescued.
Meanwhile, the management of AngloGold has refuted claims that some persons have been trapped in a mine belonging to them.
In a statement dated Tuesday, May 30, 2023, and signed by the Managing Director, Eric Asubonteng, he explained that the claims cannot be true because the exit ramp from the mine remains open.
He added that in the case that anybody was trapped in their mine, they can exit on foot via the existing ramp, a report by graphic.com.gh said.
Eric Asubonten, however, explained that some seven illegal miners who were in their mines yesterday walked out on foot and are in the custody of the police.
Several properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis were destroyed by furious youth in Obuasi on Tuesday, May 30, as they expressed their anger over the detention of a group of illegal miners.
The illegal miners were arrested for entering an underground concession belonging to AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine.
The rampaging youth destroyed property mostly belonging to AngloGold including vehicles and billboards, to press home their demand for the release of their colleagues who had been arrested after exiting the shaft.
The illegal miners, numbering about 48, who were being held at the Central Police Station were later released.
But the irate youth continued to agitate for those underground to be allowed to go home without arrest.
Over 200 illegal miners on Monday, May 29 were believed to have been trapped in the northern areas of the mine where no active mining has been done for years.
News of the incident sparked widespread protest in the Obuasi township as people converged at the Obuasi East Assembly to implore authorities to intervene.
However, when the relevant authorities including security agencies went to the location, the miners refused to come out for fear of being arrested.
Following the arrest of those who came out, the rest decided to stay underground to avoid arrest, leading to the unfortunate destruction of property belonging to AngloGold.
Meanwhile, AngloGold Ashanti has provided an update on the incident in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.
The mining firm said the unauthorised persons purported to have been trapped could exit on foot via the existing ramp through the main access to the area.
“No person underground has been confined in any way and the main exit from the mine remains opened,” the statement clarified.
It said any unauthorised person underground could leave the mine at any time by the exit points where public security remained on standby.
“Intrusion of illegal miners into underground areas remain a significant dangerous activity and AngloGold Ashanti Ghana is working alongside authorities to ensure that only authorised mine personnel and contractors can access underground work areas,” the statement concluded.
The police have arrested 48 out of about 300 illegal miners ‘trapped’ in the recent galamsey pit collapse atAngloGoldshaft in the Ashanti region.
These individuals were part of a group of 300 illegal miners who had entered the mine shaft in search of gold deposits but became trapped in one of the shafts.
The police and military were deployed at the main exit of the shaft and instructed the miners to come out voluntarily. Subsequently, they were arrested and taken to a nearby police station.
In response to the arrests, a gathering of youth and relatives of the miners assembled at the Obuasi East District Assembly, demanding the release of the detainees.
The tense situation led to some individuals expressing their frustration by damaging the windows of a vehicle used to transport the arrested miners to the police station.
A significant number of miners have chosen to remain underground out of fear of being arrested.
On Tuesday, AngloGold Ashanti refuted suggestions that the over 300illegal miners trapped in one of the company’s mine shafts were confined and unable to exit.
In a statement from the mining firm, it was explained that the trapped miners have not been confined and can exit on foot via the existing ramp from the mine.
“Unauthorized persons underground are able to exit on foot, using the existing ramp through the main access of this mining area. No person underground has been confined in any way, and the main exit ramp from the mine remains open.
“Obuasi Gold Mine’s management team has notified the relevant authorities and public security services and is working closely with them.”
Pathologist Professor, Paul Opoku Sampene Ossei,has warned about the harmful impact of unlawful mining on unborn babies and pregnant women residing in mining communities across the country.
According to him, the exposure of expecting mothers to harmful toxins in the air, in water bodies and through the ingestion of foodstuff cultivated on contaminated lands has led to a rise in birth defects, stillbirths and maternal mortality in affected areas.
The pathologist who has been conducting a case study in affected areas said cognitive impairments are the least of worries in comparison to some mothers carrying dead fetuses to full term.
“Not only are these children born with cognitive impairments, some of them are born what we call stillbirth, where they die in their mothers’ uteruses or their mother’s uterus. And then some of them will also have to go through what we call spontaneous abortion.
“And then if they’re lucky and they come unto this earth, some of them will have all manner of congenital anomalies such as those that I’ve shown… children with different limbs, limbs about four limbs, some of them having to have eyes that are situated in a funny area around the forehead.
“Some of them will have what we call polydactyl which means that their limbs will have – in fact when we talk about the digitals, the fingers will have maybe six here, six there, another six on the limbs making it 12:12 making it 24 digitals. And then some of them were born, not born, let me say, were delivered without genitals,” he said.
He said the cognitive impairments of the fetuses also leads to many half formed babies being born in the affected areas.
He explained that the cognitive impairment being suffered by the foestus means that some of them are out of synch with their mothers’ labour time and thus are either born without some body parts or in some cases born with extra body parts.
“Some of these things, what happens is that these children because of their development, they cannot synchronise with the mother’s time of labour so they will have different times because of their cognitive impairments they don’t synchronise with their mother’s way of delivery so they cannot be born naturally what we call spontaneous vaginal delivery.
“So most of the mothers, most of them are from the remotest parts of where these galamsey work is being done. So by the time they’re brought to the hospital, they’re already dead. So basically, when they die like this, their mothers are dead, it behoves on the hospital and the family members to make sure that these babies are retrieved from their mother’s uterus.”
He said should government fail to address the issue, these anomalies will become commonplace in those areas in the near future.
The government has strengthened the enforcement system by increasing the punishment for persons convicted for engaging in illegal mining activities, the Minister for Lands, and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has announced.
According to him, the ‘Operation Halt II’ also continues to support the enforcement measures, and said all prosecutions pertaining to illegal mining activities were undertaken by the Office of the Attorney-General.
The Lands Minister said about 119 cases involving 727 accused persons were pending before the Courts for various offences relating to illegal mining in the Eastern, Western and Ashanti Regions.
He added that the figure excluded 187 people convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in the Eastern Region last year.
Mr Jinapor made the announcement at the opening of a two-day transformational dialogue on artisanal and small-scale mining under the theme, ‘Sustaining Environmental Security and Human Right in Small Scale Mining Operations in Ghana,’ at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality.
The programme, initiated by the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) aimed at bringing together various stakeholders to deliberate on the issue and jointly make efforts towards a common direction.
It was attended by politicians, traditional leaders, students, members, and staff of the UENR, artisans and small-scale miners, civil society actors, representatives of large-scale mining companies and the media.
Mr Jinapor observed small-scale mining impacts a number of human rights, including the right to life, health, safe environment, water, property and development which needed to be addressed as a matter of high public interest.
He said Ghana was blessed with abundant mineral resources, which if managed properly could provide a strong base for the livelihoods of the people.
But improper management of the mineral resources through illegal mining was plaguing the country now, hence most environmentalists had been advocating that mining was just a destruction and must be stopped completely, Mr Jinapor stated.
He said mining must be done sustainably and responsibly to protect the natural environment and the rights of persons being affected by it, because that industry continues to be the bulwark of the national economy.
Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, the Vice-Chancellor of the UENR said the institution initiated the dialogue as a way of contributing to promote responsible mining to ensure industrial and associated environmental best practices for the country’s sustainable development.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has affirmed the government’s commitment to fighting illegal mining, popularly known as “galamsey”.
He said the government was not against small-scale mining but rather irresponsible mining that destroyed the natural environment.
“Our efforts, which are necessary to clamp down on galamsey, have sometimes been interpreted to mean the government of President Akufo-Addo is against small-scale mining,” he said.
Mr Jinapor was speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day Transformational Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining organised by the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) at Fiapre near Sunyani in the Bono Region yesterday.
He said it was rather the commitment of President Akufo-Addo to promote responsible small-scale mining, which was demonstrated in the reduction of withholding tax on unprocessed gold by small-scale miners, which was introduced in 2015, from three per cent to 1.5 per cent.
The dialogue organised on the theme: “Sustaining Environmental Security and Human Rights in Small-Scale Mining Operation in Ghana”, is to create a unique platform to undertake in-depth discussions on one of the most pressing issues, not only in our country, but across the globe on the sustainable exploitation of natural resources.
It brought together representatives of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, Association of Women in Mining in Africa and Ghana, the Regional House of Chiefs, Large-Scale Mining companies, students and civil society organisations, among others.
Under severe stress
Mr Jinapor said in recent years, the world’s natural resources had come under severe stress due to rapid population growth and urbanisation, increasing agriculture production and high demand for raw materials to meet the needs of the modern-day sophisticated lifestyle and climate change.
He explained that the demand for raw materials globally had doubled in the last 20 years, adding that the increasing demand for resources had also contributed to the climate crisis, thereby worsening the pressure on these resources, and causing a form of a vicious cycle between climate change and resources.
Mr Jinapor said governments across the world were changing measures to address the emerging changes and improve the sustainability of land and resources.
Economy
The minister said mining continued to be the backbone of the national economy, “but for many years, small-scale mining remain illegal until it was formalised in 1989, through three sets of laws”.
He said since the formalisation, the small-scale mining sector had increasingly contributed to the national economy, reaching over 40 per cent in 2018.
“Last year, for example, the sector produced a total of 712, 405 ounces of gold; bringing in almost $1.2 billion in export receipts.
Today, all diamonds produced in the country are from small-scale mining, which in 2022 amounted to 82,251.99 carats,” he stated.
Mr Jinapor said apart from their contribution to the gold and diamond output, the sector was a source of employment to thousands of people and supported the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens.
He, however, expressed concern about the increasing illegalities associated with the sector, adding that their effect on the environment had, sadly, resulted in small-scale mining being associated with environmental destruction.
Greedy
Mr Jinapor said apart from greedy and unscrupulous nation wreckers who destroyed the environment due to their interests, the drivers of the illegalities in the small-scale mining sector included unemployment, the lack of blocked-out areas for small-scale mining, challenges with securing licences and other regulatory permits and the lack of law enforcement.
He said the government was implementing policies and measures aimed at addressing the drivers such as the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme, alternative sources of income and livelihood to persons engaged in mining.
Mr Jinapor explained that the programme employed several youths in the production of seedlings and reclamation of degraded mined lands.
Out of poverty
For his part, the Vice-Chancellor of UENR, Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, said the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) subsector had the potential to lift many rural people out of poverty if properly organised, controlled and monitored with a strong sense of environmental responsibility.
He said in Ghana, the ASGM subsector alone directly employed about one million people and indirectly supports about 4.5 million.
Prof. Asare-Bediako said UENR would continue to promote the development of human resources and skills required to solve critical energy and natural resources challenges of society and undertake interdisciplinary academic research and outreach programmes.
The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, said the government was doing its best to resource institutions, particularly universities to fight galamsey.
She said the government was sensitive to some shortfalls and had prepared plans to resource universities in the country, particularly UENR to assume their rightful duty and be able to contribute everlasting and innovative ideas.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission says government has not failed in its efforts to curb the activities of illegal mining in the country, popularly known as galamsey, is not over.
Martin Kwaku Ayisi said the menace cannot be ended anytime soon.
Even though Mr Ayisi will not admit that the government has failed in ending the canker, he said he understands the anger expressed by the citizenry.
According to him, the activities of illegal mining in the country is a big problem that must be dealt with urgently.
“I will be the first just as my minister, to say that galamsey is not over. But I will not say we have failed. I can understand the outrage and anger being expressed by Ghanaians.
“When people switch on their televisions and see that waterbody that looks like apple juice or milo, that is their anger and I understand them,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, May 6.
The issue of the galamsey canker has come to the front burner recently following the controversial report by the former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
Prof Frimpong-Boateng cites persons in government who he accuses of frustrating his effort to fight galamsey when he was Environment Minister.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protecting the environment.
“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” excerpts of the document said.
While some of the persons he mentioned in the report have denied any wrongdoing, many in the public believe the galamsey fight is a lost cause.
Civil society organisation, Alliance for Social Equity and Public Administration (ASEPA) has called for investigations into the Operation Vanguard taskforce tasked to curb illegal mining in the country as well as the report about illegal mining (galamsey) authored by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
An explosive report compiled by former Environment Minister, Prof Frimpong Boateng who was the chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) set up by President Akufo-Addo leaked into the public domain recently.
In the 2021 report to the President, Prof Boateng named senior government officials accused of active involvement in illegal mining locally called ‘galamsey’.
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has announced that he is investigating the report that has already been given to Ghana’s Chief of Staff, Madam Frema Osei Opare.
As Ghanaians begin to show interest in the Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report, the Executive Director for ASEPA, Mensah Thompson, wants the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to probe the matter with all seriousness.
Speaking on Power Midday news on Power 97.9 FM, Thompson alleged that Operation Vanguard– the joint military and police force tasked to fight illegal mining– was compromised at the time of its operations in the country.
He told Piesie Okrah on Power FM that there were issues raised against the taskforce when it was tasked to combat illegal mining.
“We want the Special Prosecutor not to investigate Professor Frimpong-Boateng’s report but all issues linked to galamsey, including Operation Vanguard,” Thompson said.
He believes if the works of the IMCIM and Operation Vanguard are investigated, the lapses in the fight against galamsey will be exposed.
The Forestry Commission has disclosed that illegal mining activities known as ‘galamsey‘ are threatening 34 of the country’s 288 forest reserves.
This comes at a time government’s fight against the menace has been questioned following a report put together by the former chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, accusing government officials of engaging in the menace.
The report by Prof. Frimpong-Baoteng raised concerns over permits given to mine in some forest reserves and buffers.
Speaking at a press conference on the state of Ghana’s Forest Reserves, the CEO of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey said the level of devastation in the affected reserves is dire.
“34 out of 288 reserves have been affected. These are areas we have significant illegal mining. The total area mapped is about 4,726.2 hectares. This is only the size of the surface, some of these impact is fully in whole. And they excavate lots of materials that will impact the forest. It’s not only the size but the impact on our water bodies and the depth of the holes created. A lot more would have to be done to be able to reclaim the land,” he stated.
Reacting to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report, Minister in Charge of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor says the government’s fight to clamp down on illegal mining activities should not be judged based on portions of the report.
“I found the work of the IMICM valuable, and I am working with my team to factor into the things we are doing today. There are things about the work I may not adopt today for many reasons because the terrain may have changed and so on and so forth. The report doesn’t capture my stewardship till today. I have heard people say that the report shows that government has failed, that I have failed, the report didn’t capture my tenure. The report cannot be sacrosanct, what is important is that we remain focused,” he said.
Some illegal miners in a viral video have pledged to unleash more damage on the environment should government keep up its fight against galamsey.
According to the illegal miners, the land belongs to them and the presidentcannot determine how they should use their lands.
In a video shared widely on the internet, a group of young men were working on a galamsey site while one of the workers bragged about how they would destroy the land in search of gold because it is theirs.
Directing the camera to the guys working, he said, “ Have you seen all this land, it is money and for the lands, we would continue to destroy it. We own the lands and we have decided to degrade it, and Akufo-Addo who resides in the city says he would end gala, you lie bad.”
He was not alone in thought, his co-workers reechoed his words saying, “For the lands, we shall continue to degrade it.”
The President was not the only person mocked by the galamseyers, unemployed youth in the country were not left out, according to these men captured in the video, it is only lazy people that would complain of lack of jobs and job opportunities and take to robbery.
The land is for us, we will continue to spoil it. Nana Addo cannot do anything – Galamsey operators
“Stay home and complain of lack of job opportunities. Stay home and steal from others. As for us, we are working very hard to make money to become popular. Yes, a man must work very hard,” one of the galamseyers said.
The president has over the years assured Ghanaians of his commitment to end illegal mining and even legal mining that degrades the environment. He has also called on all Ghanaians irrespective of social status and authority to join in the fight against galamsey.
Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal, has disclosed that former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, had intentions of going into mining.
Speaking in an interview, he explained that the Professor had genuine (legal) concessions for the extraction of minerals, however, he was unable to operate at the sites due to community violence.
“We investigated allegations made against Prof Frimpong-Boateng. We went in and did a very thorough investigation, came out with our report, a 116-page report, and the offshoot is that he was not involved in any illegal mining concessions,” he said in an interview with TV3 on Tuesday, April 25.
“He had genuine concessions which he had difficulties even starting because of community violence against his company.”
This follows allegations made against the Professor to the effect that he is involved in illegal mining, which also follow an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report he authored.
The said report indicts a number of government officials including Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, a former Presidential Staffer, Charles Bissue, NPP Stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko as either being involved in illegal mining popularly known as galamsey or interfering in the fight against illegal mining.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protecting the environment.
“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” excerpts of the document said.
Professor Frimpong also accused a former NPP MP in the Ashanti Region of selling illegally acquired concessions at GH¢200,000 each.
According to him, this infuriated the party in the constituency so during the 2020 primaries to select a candidate the electorate voted against NPP MP, the then sitting MP, who had more resources than other candidates.
However, some of the persons mentioned in the report have denied the claims. Following the release of the report, Charles Bissue, who is the Former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) accused Prof Frimpong Boateng’s associates of engaging in galamsey.
According to Mr Bissue, a number of them including Francis Owusu Achiaw, Mike Gizo and Kwabena Boakye, are all involved in galamsey.
“I am also disappointed in Prof Frimpong Boateng to the extent that he has people around him who were doing the same thing [illegal mining],” he said in an interview on JoyNews.
He said Prof Boateng has not been consistent and truthful to Ghanaians; explaining that the former Minister was not factual in his reportage on the missing excavators.
“At the time he said 500 excavators were missing, I called him and I said Prof that is not factual. You have actually sent about three reports to the National Security Council and the report that you sent reported that we do not have up to even 300 excavators so why 500?
“I called him and he said he knew what he was doing and then three or four years down the line, you come back to say that no excavators were missing.”
A man, Agya Owusu, whose mining equipment were burnt has alleged that Joseph Albert Quarm, a former member of parliament forNkwanta, sold to him an unlawful mining site concession.
According to Agya Owusu, soldiers came to stop him from mining and burnt his mining equipment; saying that his concession was illegal because it was close to a river.
Speaking to the media at the mining site in a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb, Agya Owusu said that he informed Albert Quarm of what transpired but the former MP has done nothing to help him up to date.
He added that he sent the documents on the mining concession to Accra for authentication after which he will decide on the action to take against the former MP.
“One of the soldiers told me that having a concession close to a river is illegal so they had to burn my equipment.
“I called the person who sold me the land to inform him of what has transpired but up to date he has said nothing meaningful for me, he has not even said sorry.
“The person who sold the concession to me is the former MP, Prof Quarm,” he said in Twi.
Background
A former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, named some former and current members of parliament as well as top government officials who are allegedly involved in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana.
Portions of a report on illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana by Prof Frimpong Boateng, indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their power to protect relatives who were involved in the menace.
The 36-page report, which Prof Frimpong addressed to the Chief of Staff and the Ghana Police Service, according to myjoyonline.com, implicated the former MP for Manso Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm.
“He (the former NPP MP) used his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to acquire several dozens of large-scale concessions in his district, ostensibly for community mining purposes. He ended up selling these concessions to private individuals, including party members for GH¢200,000 per concession.
Joseph Albert Quarm has, however, firmly refuted the claims made by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Speaking with Aduanaba Kofi Ampong on Ezra Morning show on Friday, monitored by GhanaWeb, Quarm called out the claims by Frimpong Boateng’s report as mere false accusations that seek to tarnish his image.
According to him, the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources legally established community mining in his constituency and he doesn’t know if that was what Frimpong Boateng’s report has captured as illegal operations by him.
“I don’t even have one concession not even to talk of dozen concessions sold by me, as stated in his report. He doesn’t have any substantive evidence on his statement so I’m challenging him to come out with evidence,” Quarm said,
“I do expect him to retract and apologize over his false reportage that seeks to denigrate my reputation, else he will have to meet in court to prove otherwise,” he added.
The minority leader in parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has stated that the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining (galamsey), are mocked by the former chairman of the disbanded Inter-ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s, report.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Forson said the revelation by Prof. Frimpong is strongly indicative that the galamsey fight was nothing but a charade. He plainly describes it as fraudulent.
“Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report to the President on failed work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which was set up by President Akufo-Addo to fight the illegal mining menace, confirms that the whole fight was a fraudulent one”, he wrote.
The report authored by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng also a former Minister of Environment in March 2021 and handed over to the Chief of Staff cited a number of top officials in the Akufo-Addo government accused of either being engaged in galamsey or interfered in the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
The Presidency in a rejoinder argued that despite the serious allegations Prof. Frimpong-Boateng made against some government appointees, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated.
It insists that the report was based on hearsay. But Dr. Ato Forson says, government’s action so far is a tacit endorsement of its corrupt appointees.
“It was shrouded in a well-calculated ruse to enable key government officials and functionaries at the Presidency to dabble in the very illicit business ofgalamsey.”
Meanwhile, the Minority leader is pushing for a full-scale investigation into the revelations.
“The revealing issues and several others in the damning report call for a national probe”, he added.
Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has responded to the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, regarding the latter’s reply to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining’s (IMCIM) 2021 report on illegal mining. According to the report, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah was named as one of the government officials involved in the increasing problem of illegal mining in several forest areas across the country. It alleged that he Mr Oppong-Nkrumah had engaged the services of unnamed journalists to issue reports aimed at damaging Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s reputation and discrediting his work as the chairman of the IMCIM. In response to the report, Oppong-Nkrumah denied the allegations, describing them as false. He expressed disappointment and offence at the accusations made against him. “I have had nothing but great admiration for Prof Boateng’s public-spirited works and as an inspirational citizen. I feel gravely offended over the false claims he has made and the hurtful conclusions he has sought to exact about me precisely because of the great esteem in which I have held him,” he said. Frimpong-Boateng, after seeing this, decided to respond by saying that it was normal for people in high positions in government to deny allegations, and that he had good advice to offer Oppong-Nkrumah. “When I was part of the government, we were colleagues, and I related to you as such. Now I will advise you as my son, just as I do my children. After all, you are the same age as my fourth-born son. When I returned to Ghana from Germany to start the cardiothoracic project, you were just six years old as my fourth child. I will not lie to you or insult you or be harsh on you. My advice is always to remember that political power is both short-lived and effervescent.” Frimpong-Boateng also revealed current activity of galamsey close to Oppong Nkrumah’s hometown and urged his former colleague to investigate and take appropriate action. “I don’t want to believe that what the person said about your role is true. The important thing is that Chinese and their Ghanaian collaborators are engaged in illegal mining at your doorstep.”
Former Member of Parliament for the Ashanti region’s Manso Nkwanta constituency, Prof. Joseph Albert Quarm, has categorically rejected accusations that he engaged in illegal mining, also known as galamsey, made by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Speaking with Aduanaba Kofi Ampong on Ezra Morning show on Friday, monitored by GhanaWeb, Prof. Quarm called out the claims by Frimpong Boateng’s report as mere false accusations that seek to tarnish his image. He also described the report as worthless since it failed to listen to his side of the story before being issued by the professor.
According to him, the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources legally established community minings in his constituency and he doesn’t know if that was what Frimpong Boateng’s report has captured as illegal operations by him. He However described the claims as false that must disregarded by everyone. “I don’t even have one concession not even to talk of dozen concessions sold by me, as stated in his report.” Mr. Quarm said.
“He doesn’t have any substantive evidence on his statement so I’m challenging him to come out with evidence”. Prof. Quarm said it on the radio during the interview He stated that he will go to court if Prof. Frimpong Boateng didn’t retract and apologize to him.
“I do expect him to retract and apologize over his false reportage that seek to denigrate my reputation, else he will have to meet in court to prove otherwise”. He concluded.
His response was in reaction to a recent publication by Professor Frimpong-Boateng on illegal mining activities that implicated many NPP gurus and others in government. The former Manso Nkwanta MP was captured to have been owing many concessions which he sold to illegal miners at 2 Million Ghana Cedis.
Lord Commey, the Director of Operations at the Presidency, has vehemently refuted claims that he participated inillegal mining (galamsey).
A 37-page report authored by the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM) named Mr Commey as one of the persons at the Jubilee House who had hired Chinese nationals to engage in galamsey on his behalf.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa).”
But in a response, Mr Commey said he had “never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.
“There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
He dared the former Minister to provide evidence to back his allegations.
Below is the full statement
RE: REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE IMCIM SO FAR AND THE WAY FORWARD
My attention has been drawn to a 37-page report purported to have been written by the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM).
The report said to have been submitted to the Chief of Staff (CoS) cites me as an example of persons supporting or engaging in illegal mining.
“There are appointees in theJubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa),”
For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.
There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
I therefore challenge him to prove beyond reasonable doubts claims I was either promoting or engaging in illegal mining or I would use available legal means to protect my hardwon reputation.
Until proven otherwise, I would urge all to treat the claims of Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng with the contempt they deserve.
God Bless our homeland Ghana
Lord Commey Director of Operations at the Presidency
Prof. Albert Joseph Quarm, a former Manso Nkwanta MP, has refuted accusations that he participated in unlawful mining.
This comes after former Environment Minister, Prof Frimpong Boateng, submitted names of people in government who frustrated his effort to fight what is locally called ‘galamsey’. He captured this in his 2021 report on the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
Mr Quarm’s name was on the list, where he was accused of abusing his role as a member of the Minerals Commission board to acquire concessions and sell them.
According to the report, the former MP sold the concessions to private individuals, including party members for GH¢200,000 per concession.
But in an interview on Friday, Prof Quarm said “I do not even have a single concession…I do not even have a concession in my name.”
“It is a fabrication,” he added, stating that he will have his lawyers write to Prof Frimpong-Boateng to retract and apologise.
“If he doesn’t do it, I will advise myself,” Prof Quarm said.
The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, has been challenged by the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, to give proof of his involvement in an unlawful small-scale mining practice (galamsey).
According to Lord Commey, the allegation made by Prof. Frimpong Boateng that he (Commey) is involved in illegal small-scale mining should be ignored by Ghanaians.
In a statement copied to GhanaWeb, the director of operations at the presidency said that he has never been involved in galamsey, and has never used his position to protect someone in the menace.
“For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report. There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
“I therefore challenge him to prove beyond reasonable doubts claims that I was either promoting or engaging in illegal mining or I would use available legal means to protect my hard-won reputation.
“Until proven otherwise, I would urge all to treat the claims of Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng with the contempt they deserve,” parts of the statement read.
Background
A former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, named members of parliament and top government officials who are allegedly involved in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana.
Portions of a report on illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana by Prof Frimpong Boateng, indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their power to protect relatives who were involved in the menace.
The 36-page report, which Prof Frimpong addressed to the Chief of Staff and the Ghana Police Service, according to myjoyonline.com, implicated the former MP for Manso Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm; director of operations at the presidency, Laud Commey; executive assistant and head of social media at the presidency, Charles Nii Teiko; and Frank Asiedu Bekoe, director of political affairs at the Office of the Chief of Staff.
“He (the former NPP MP) used his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to acquire several dozens of large-scale concessions in his district, ostensibly for community mining purposes. He ended up selling these concessions to private individuals, including party members for GH¢2000 per concession.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the president’s commitment to protecting the environment. I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Laud Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa),” parts of the report read.
The report also indicated that members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had also acquired several mining concessions, especially in the Western Region.
“In the Wassa East District, a former NDC Deputy Minister who is also MP for the Wassa East constituency has been actively mining in the Subri forest for years,” the report also stated.
In his report on illegal mining, formerenvironmentminister Prof. Frimpong Boateng expressed his horror at what he claimed to have learned through a phone call from attorney Gabby Otchere Darko, who allegedly instructed him to permit a mining business to operate in the Krobo and Apaprama Forest Reserve.
According to the report, which was allegedly written by the former minister, he was horrified because the lawyer who was closer to the president and should have supported his fight against Galamsey was the one fronting for the company to engage in illegality.
Prof. Boateng, in the said report, revealed that the lawyer had called claiming to be the legal representative for Donald Entsuah and his friend Simon Ayman, a Candian national, whose company C&J Aleska had reportedly caused havoc to theDiaso Forest Reserve.
The portion of the report read: ”The major pronouncement made by the President, when he took office in January 2017 that touched the hearts and rekindled the enthusiasm of many Ghanaians, including me, was about his preparedness to put his presidency on the line to fight the menace of illegal mining.
I took this statement literally and seriously and I was determined to do everything I could to protect the environment and biodiversity.
I was expecting people such as Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, Captain Kodah and others like them, who knew the President better and certainly had his interest and success at heart, to support the fight against illegal mining. I was thus horrified to receive a telephone call from Mr. Otchere Darko telling me he was the legal advisor to Mr. Donald Entsuah and his Imperial Heritage Mining Company and that the company should be allowed to work in the Kobro and Apaprama Forest Reserves.
It was this same Donald Entsuah and his friend Simon Ayman, a Canadian national, whose company C&J Aleska caused havoc in the Diaso forest. These two gentlemen were close allies of the Mahamas and soldiers from the Ghana Army gave them protection. Captain Mahama died in the course of his duty protecting Donald Entsuah’s interests.
The IMCIM was able to dislodge E&J Aleska from Diaso. Shortly thereafter Donald Entsuah established Imperial Heritage Mining Company and was given a prospecting licence to work in the Kobro and Apaprama forests in Amansie Central. Here again, he managed to get military protection contrary to all directives from government. Worse still, an important NPP member also provided legal advice.”
It added ”Going forward, if there will ever be such an undertaking, I expect the President’s pronouncement and wishes to be respected and supported, especially by those close to him.
For four years there were directives from the President and his Cabinet that were designed to help fight illegal mining. These directives were to be respected and carried out by Ministries and some agencies.”
According to Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s final report majority of the ministers appointed to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) abandoned the committee.
The only ministers who remained a part of the Committee, according to Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s report, were the Ministers of Sanitation and Local Government and Rural Development.
The Committee was set in March, 2017 by President Akufo-Addo in the fight against illegal small-scale mining.
Among the ministries which formed the Committee are Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Chieftaincy & Religious Affairs, Regional Re-Organisation and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Water and Sanitation, Interior, Defense and Information.
Among the tasks of the Committee was to sanitise and regularise small-scale mining activities in the various mining districts to ensure that miners work within legal framework.
But the Committee was dissolved shortly after the 2020 elections.
Committee Chairman Prof Frimpong-Boateng, who was Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, accused some elements at the Jubilee House of hampering the efforts of the inter-ministerial committee.
In his report, sighted by 3news.com, the respected heart surgeon listed abandonment of members as the first challenge his committee faced.
“Apart from the Ministers for Sanitation and Local Government and Rural Development, all the others abandoned the Committee,” he stated in the report, said to have been submitted on March 19, 2021.
“To make matters worse, the Chairman was personally attacked, vilified and framed for things he had not done.
“Such assaults came from many people, including some of the ministers who effectively left the committee.”
He cited Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, and then Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Mafo, as among ministers who deliberately worked against the committee.
Two illegal miners have met their untimely death after a canoe they were traveling on capsized on River Pra at Awisam in the Assin Fosu Municipality of the Central Region.
Information gathered by Kasapa News’ Yaw Boagyan, indicates that 11 illegal miners were traveling on the canoe which has capacity for 5 people after their illegal mining activity. But along the journey, the canoe capsized when it hit a rock causing the two to drown. The remaining 9 were able to swim to the bank of the river.
The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary.
Meanwhile, the Assemblyman of the area, Mr. Jerry Ayuba in an interview said this is not the first time such sad incident has happened on that river, adding that the victims involved are mostly youth who seem to value the money they gain from the activities more than their lives.
He, therefore, advised the youth against engaging in illegal mining.
Illegal mining, Farming, and deforestation along the banks of water bodies on some parts of the Black Volta River are major challenges to water resources management in the Upper West Region.
On the part of groundwater Resources, the major challenges faced are the uncontrolled drilling of boreholes and the use of unlicensed drilling companies in the drilling and construction of boreholes.
The Head of Black Volta Basin, Water Resources CommissionDr Joachim Agiiwe Abungba, raised these concerns during a tour with students and other stakeholders around the stretch of the Black Volta River to mark World Water Day celebration in the region.
The Day was on the theme: “Accelerating Change” and the tour was to enable the students and the stakeholders to see how they could individually accelerate the change in water resources management.
The Water level in the basin as at March 22, 2023, was 4.12 metres and will rise to 13.28 metres during its peak in the rainy season.
The students were drawn from the Wa Senior High, St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Wa Senior High/Technical School and Jamiat Islamic Girls Senior High and charged to act as agents of change, advocating for the protection and sustainable utilisation of water resources to help address why so many people had been without access to safe water.
Dr Abungba noted that the Unwillingness on the part of water users in the basin to register their operations with the Water Resources Commission mandated to regulate and manage the water resources, was also a challenge and needed to be addressed.
“Without a proper register of water users in the basin, it will be difficult to regulate activities for sustainable utilisation of the basin’s water resources,” he pointed out.
He said as part of efforts to the attainment of the Goal Six of the Sustainable Development Goals, which targeted water for all by 2030, to among other actions, there was the need to advocate for the protection and restoration of ecosystems to safeguard the existence of water resources for use today and that of posterity.
Dr Abungba announced that the Black Volta Basin Secretariat had developed an integrated water resources management plan to ensure sustainable exploitation, utilisation and management of the basin’s water resources while maintaining biodiversity and the quality of the environment for future generations.
He explained that all major global issues from health to hunger, gender equality to employment, education to industry, and disasters to peace were hampered by dysfunction in the water cycle.
The Head of Black Volta Basin, said it was sad that the world’s population human rights to water and sanitation had not been met, as numerous farms, industries, schools, enterprises, and healthcare facilities were being held back because of water and sanitation challenges.
He called for urgent measures to speed up efforts towards achieving sustainable water management practices through collective efforts so that the challenges being faced in the water sector could be solved.
Mr Ato Quansah, the Regional Director of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, appealed to community leaders to refrain from the practice of burying dead bodies in the compounds and rooms.
They should also make sure that old cemeteries were properly demarcated to stop people from drilling boreholes in those areas because underground water could be contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.
According to Charles Bissiw, a former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining (galamsey), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former minister of environment, science, and technology, has been declared a suspect twice in investigations into illegal small-scale mining,
He claimed that Prof. Frimpong-Boatengwas labeled a suspect because he was in charge of distributing excavators that the government had seized and confiscated for use in galamsey in 2020, which went missing.
Speaking in an interview on Neat FM on Monday, monitored by GhanaWeb, Bissiw added that Prof Frimpong-Boateng reported the issue of the missing excavators to the Ghana Police Service, and he became a suspect after the investigations into the matter.
“Prof knows the truth about this issue (the missing excavators) but he has let Ghana down. Prof reported this issue to the police, and I went to the CID to present my statement for their investigations. At the end of the day, Prof became a suspect.
“Ask him whether he responded to the invitation of the police. He, also, reported a case to the BNI (Bureau of National Investigations), and at the end of the day, he become a suspect. Ask him if he did not sack the officers of the BNI who came to interrogate him about the missing excavators,” he said in Twi.
He added that Prof. Frimpong Boateng has all the details about the persons behind the missing excavators, and he has let the country down by failing to tell Ghanaians the whole truth on the matter.
Charles Bissue, however, noted that the recent detail given on the number of excavators that went missing by the former science and technology minister, in an interview on the state broadcaster, GBC, is the truth.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on March 10, 2023, with GBC News, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, a renowned surgeon, refuted assertions that the number of excavators that went missing in 2020, when he was minister, was 500.
“No 500 excavators went messing, it was somebody who threw that into the media space to tag something of Frimpong Boateng. What am I doing with 500 excavators?” he questioned.
According to him, the anti-galamsey taskforce seized between 150 and 200 excavators.
“When we went round, I think we got about 150, 200 that you could see. The rest had either been given to the owners or put in extra parts and moved away. And somebody put it out there, Frimpong Boateng has taken 500 excavators, what am I going to do with them? There was an orchestrating scheme even within the party and government to get you out,” he said.
According to reports, 33 individuals have been detained for last week’s demolition ofGolden Star Wassa Mineproperties in Benso,Western Area.
The company’s employees were forced to flee for their safety after the illegal miners reportedly set 12 vehicles on fire, including pick-up trucks, ambulances, and excavators.
The Head of Group Corporate Affairs of the company, Gerard Hillary Osei Boakye earlier narrated to Citi News, how they were attacked.
“We usually do our patrols to protect our concession which is required of us by law to be responsible for our boundaries and also prevent incursions, to make sure that community people, hunters, and farms are safe. On one such occasion which was Thursday, March 16, we encountered some illegal miners encroaching, we engaged them as part of our modus operandi and told them to move away”.
“They were interested in that area, so they came back and when they came back, we tried to ward them off with the help of the police. They dispersed again and apparently unconfirmed report reaching us is that they may have been injured in the cause of being dispersed. That probably infuriated them, and they came back to torch our vehicles and ran our security post down, destroyed our offices, basically burnt things down,” he explained.
The Forestry Commission of the Western North Areahas seized 26 illegal chainsaws that were being used by their owners day and night in forest reserves.
The “Operation Arrest Chainsaw” has also resulted in the arrest of eight (8) operators.
This according to the Western North branch of the Commission is an effort to ensure the protection and preservation of the forest reserves for the future generation.
Confirming the arrest to the media on Thursday, March 16, 2023, the Western North Regional Forestry Range Manager and Coordinator of the Forestry Commission who led the Rapid Team to embark on the operations, George Arthur said it was a special operation to arrest only chainsaw Machines operating illegally in the forest reserve.
According to the rangeManager, chainsawing is the major threat to the reserve hence their decision to embark on the exercise against those illegal operators.
He said the Rapid team were divided into five groups and dispatched into the reserves where these illegal chainsawing goes on.
George Arthur indicated that after the arrest, 26 chainsaw machines, pump action guns with cartridges, two ‘jacks’ and other items were retrieved from the operators.
The Western North Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, Stephen Asamoah Duah indicated that the 26 chainsaw machines were retrieved within 5 days and more of them were arrested at the night.
“The focus of our operations was to attack the source of illegal chainsawing rather than arresting the illegal operators on the roads,” he told the Media.
He pledged the District Managers in the region will continue to hunt for those who engage in the forest illegally with different strategies.
Meanwhile, the Sefwi Wiawso Forest District Manager, Mr Raymond Obeng Boamah disclosed the Commission is doing its best but some residents in the Ahafo Region precisely Sankore are making their work very difficult for them.
The Rapid Response Team of the Western North Forestry Commission appealed to the authorities of the Commission to provide them with more logistics such as guns, vehicles, walkie-talkies among others so they can protect the forest Reserves effectively.
“These illegal Chainsaw Operators are very wicked and fully armed and we need to arm ourselves too otherwise any time they give a warning shot, it will scare you to go back, and in the process they will continue their activities to destroy the forest reserve. We are there to protect the reserves for the unborn generation and if we allow few people to cut all these trees including the small ones what signal are we sending to the future generation,” he told the media.
The vehicle, a Toyota Double Cabin pick up with registration number GN 8818-20, also has the inscription, Ghana Responsible Gold Mining Summit, and a beautiful picture of the Asantehene, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Task Force
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has been at the forefront of the quest to root out illegal mining (galamsey) from the country. He has declared 2023 an action year as he moves to protect lands and water bodies in his Kingdom from the activities of illegal miners. The Task Force will be playing a major role in this, and also other anti-illegal mining activities in the coming years.
To demonstrate his determination to tackle the illegal mining menace head-on, His Majesty has warned chiefs under his authority that any of them whose lands and rivers have been destroyed by illegal miners would be summoned for questioning and anyone who fails to provide reasonable explanation will be sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has said it has lost GH¢4.8 billion worth of investment in 35 hectares of cocoa farms to illegal mining (galamsey) activities at Boinso in the Western Region.
The investment covered the planting of new cocoa trees and plantain suckers, compensations to landowners and farmers, extension services, among other activities it was undertaking to scale up the country’s cocoa production.
Rev Edwin Afari, Executive Director, Cocoa Health, and Extension Division said a recent visit to the area saw that all the cocoa trees they planted had been cut down for galamsey.
“We have not even accounted for the harvesting that will be coming. It is just the investment; all the work we have done over there has gone to waste and so you can imagine what is happening,” he lamented.
He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the sideline of a ceremony to award some 15 blind cocoa farmers, a novelty by the Board to whip up interest in cocoa farming, particularly among persons with disabilities.
He observed that galamsey had had a dramatic impact on the cocoa industry in Ghana over the last 10 years, and as a major earner of foreign exchange, the country could suffer the blunt if the illegality continued.
Rev Afari averred that the State cocoa company was facing a hard time reviving the industry as cocoa farmers were giving out their farms willingly or under compulsion for galamsey.
“In the southern part of the Western North and some parts of Ashanti Region, especially the Manso Adobea, Antoakrom and the Enyinam areas, a lot of the miners are causing us a lot of trouble.”
“They are cutting away all the newly planted cocoa trees that we have, and it is really causing us a lot of investments,” she said.
He said Ghana risked losing its cocoa and, therefore, called on government, the Minerals Commission, and chiefs to help fight the menace to save the industry by not giving out concessions in cocoa-growing areas.
“Because this is what gets us foreign exchange and shores up our Cedi when it is depreciating, and also gives government more room to invest in all the development areas,” he said.
And to the farmers, Mr Afari noted that “the lump sum money may be good now but not in the future because cocoa is there all the time.
“If you do it well and you get 25 bags per hectare, you will be getting more money than you are getting now.”
He further expressed concerns over the aging population of cocoa farmers, citing the attendant looming dire impact on the economy and general development.
He was worried that many young people were not interested in agriculture in spite of the vast potential in the sector.
He admonished the youth, especially professionals from all fields, to venture into cocoa to create wealth for themselves and the country.
Rev Afari said the country was targeting 850,000 tonnes of cocoa this year as against last year’s 683,000.
Former Deputy Defence Minister, Major (rtd) Derek Oduro, says the decision to use aircrafts to fight illegal mining is a laudable.
This comment by the former Minister comes after the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry revealed that it is set to take delivery of four aircraft from the Ghana Armed Forces to aid the fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
George Mireku Duker, Deputy Lands Minister, said the aircraft, which belongs to the Armed Forces, will come in handy as new strategies are being mapped out to fight illegal mining.
“The aircraft have been around, and they are sitting in Takoradi. You could bear with me that in court we may need some evidence, it is the reason these aircraft are very important in the sector. We are hoping to have not less than four of these aircrafts,” Mireku Duker told pressmen.
After the re-launch of Operation Halt II on October 11, 2022, the Ghana Armed Forces deployed in the fight against illegal mining in forest reserves and river bodies seized 30 excavators, destroyed four and immobilized four others on site.
Reacting to the use of aircraft in fighting illegal mining, Major (ret.) Derek Oduro told host Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa of Atinka TV’s morning show “Ghana Nie” that the use of helicopters will be more effective in the fight against Galamsey than drones.
Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro reiterated that the use of helicopters to support the fight against illegal mining will prevent informants from giving heads-up to illegal miners.
“You were talking about the use of drones in fighting Galamsey, the drones helped but like we all know, there is a limit to the use of the drones. The drones cannot do what the helicopters can do. With the helicopters, the illegal miners can be sighted from afar, traced and followed to hideouts,” Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro told Ama Gyenfa.
Commenting on the setbacks in the fight against illegal mining, Major (rtd) Derek Oduro attributed the hitch to dirty politics.
He opined that during the fight, the media, which had initially embraced the fight, stepped back and began accusing the government of taking bribes from the illegal miners.
“Dirty politics have hindered the progress of the fight. The media which initially embraced the fight stepped and turned against the operations of the fight against illegal mining and begun accusing government for taking bribes from the illegal miners,” he added.
The staff of the Bekwai Forest District of the Ashanti Region of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission (FC), are waging a war against illegal mining activities in the Bunusu portion of the Oda River Forest Reserve, and the Koboro-Odaho portions of the Apamprama Forest Reserves.
Clement Omari, the Regional Manager of FSD, Ashanti Region, said staff of FSD, who were on their normal patrol duties in the two forest reserves, discovered a number of excavators believed to belong to miners operating illegally in the reserves.
The staff called for reinforcement from the Rapid Response teams stationed in the Nkawie Forest District to join the team at Bekwai.
In a series of operations led by the District Manager of Bekwai, Rexford Twum Damoah, mining equipment including 12 excavators, 12 heavy-duty pumping machines and wooden make-shift housing structures of the illegal miners were burnt down.
No arrests have been made yet since the illegal miners bolted upon seeing the teams and no one has come forward yet to claim ownership of the equipment.
In a related development, the Bekwai Forest District staff of FSD in December 2022, arrested three Chinese nationals who were undertaking illegal mining activities in the Oda River Forest Reserve.
The matter was reported to the police and the three Chinese nationals were taken to the Bekwai Circuit Court where they were granted bail pending further investigations.
The Oda River Forest Reserve is one of the prime production Forest Reserves in the Ashanti Region where timber production is carried out.
It covers an area of 164.43km², out of which about 32.86km², which represents about 20% of the Reserve, lies within the Amansie West Administrative District and the remaining 80% (131.57km²) falls under the Amansie Central Administrative District. It generally lies within the South West corner of the Bekwai Forest District.
Both the Oda River and Apamprama Forest Reserves serve as watersheds for the Oda River, which is one of the major rivers in Ghana. It is home to a wide variety of biodiversity and serves as source of drinking water for communities downstream, including the Obuasi Municipality.
In 2021, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, declared forest reserves and water bodies as red zones and restricted areas, where no mining should be allowed to take place.
He, therefore, instructed Forestry Commission to desist from issuing forest entry permits for purposes of mineral prospecting or mining in any forest reserve.
Forest reserves have come under attack from illegal operations in recent times and Forestry Commission is determined to ensure all forest reserves are protected from illegal mining and other forest offences.
When the movie industry took a nosedive seven years ago, Ras Nene, also known as Dr. Likee decided to channel his energy and resources into illegal mining, known in the local parlance as ‘galamsey’, the actor has said.
In his interview on The Delay Show aired on January 15, 2023, the Kumawood star recalled how he invested an initial amount of GH¢70,000 and later requested a loan from a friend.
According to him, after investing GH¢70,000 in the business, he made GH¢40,000 on his first attempt, a development that encouraged him to invest more.
“I had sites and equipment. One of my sites was around Bole Bamboi, a town called Sapa. I had another on a Gonjaland. This was seven years ago,” said the actor who was able to build a house for his mother through acting.
“I invested GH¢70,000 (seven hundred million old Ghana cedi). I raked GH¢40,000 on my first attempt and so I was convinced it was worth it. After making that GH¢40,000 amount, things went down. I was eager to break even. A man I worked with advised me to seek spiritual assistance but I ignored him. He went spiritual and was able to succeed while I wallowed in distress,” Ras Nene said in the Twi language.
He recalled how he rescinded his decision to leave the site after discovering another site that had potential. Instead of calling it quits, he rather asked a friend for a loan to invest but his dream was not realized.
He said: “I called a friend of mine and asked for a GH¢50,000 loan. Unfortunately, everything went down the drain. I didn’t even have money for transportation.”
Disclosing that his family and friends neglected him at this stage, Ras Nene said he received assistance from a pastor called Penamang. But for her assistance, there was no hope.
“She gave me GH¢70 for transportation,” he said.
In what appeared to be that last straw that broke the camel’s back, Ras Nene said his “own people” called the man that gave him the loan to inform him of his return.
“As soon as I got home, the man came in with the police to arrest me,” the actor narrated as he disclosed, he spent three days in remand. “I was later told the man said he had forgiven me. I was subsequently released.”
The Ashanti Region has recorded 27 tragic cases of residents in mining areas falling and dying in abandoned galamsey pits as of December 22, 2022.
The Regional National Disaster Management Organization in an interview with JoyNews said that these galamsey related deaths involved women and children returning or going to their farms.
The Regional NADMO Director, Frank Kwadwo Duodu told Erastus Asare Donkor that his outfit is drawing a plan to reclaim parts of the affected areas to be used for farming activities in 2023.
He also called for legislation to empower NADMO to be able to demolish structures contributing to flooding in the country.
Many parts of the Amansie Central municipality and communities along the Offin River have been turned into wastelands and death traps of abandoned pits and gullies.
According to the regional NADMO office, they recorded 27 illegal mining-related mine cave-ins and drowning in abandoned pits.
They noted that many of the cases involved women and children.
The Ashanti region also recorded 38 cases of flooding, 120 fires, 45 cases of windstorms, 12 cases of building collapse and four fuel tanker accidents.
Mr Duodu said that some of the flooding situations were preventable.
He is therefore calling for legislation to empower NADMO to take demolition action on structures cited illegally with the potential to cause flooding.
President Akufo-Addo remarked that farmers and citizens must collaborate to battle the galamsey threat during his speech at the 38th National Best Farmer award.
According to the President, if farmers and the general people do not cooperate with the government to eradicate the galamsey threat, the unlawful activity would wreak havoc on the ecosystem.
A task force will be established by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to keep an eye on unlawful mining near the nation’s water resources.
Benito Owusu-Bio, the deputy minister in charge of lands and forestry, claimed the action will assist reduce river pollution.
He claims that the rate at which river bodies are being destroyed bothers him.
“We are making sure we will be able to address the issue of illegal mining especially on the river bodies.
According to Mr. Owusu-Bio, the government has equipped personnel with the training and resources they need to effectively carry out their mandates.
“As we speak now, river guards have been trained, the government has procured speedboats and soon they are going to start operations and monitoring of the river bodies,” he disclosed on the sidelines of a joint technical meeting in Accra between the Ghana Boundary Commission and the Cote D’Ivoire Boundary Commission.”
The Deputy Minister observed that the previous strategy of only going to the river when there was information about mining operations had not produced the desired outcomes and was certain that the current strategy was the best.
“Now these speedboats and the river guards who have been trained how to swim and who will be given the necessary equipment like swimsuit and everything will be there and when they say they are monitoring.
“They [will] monitor from where the river meets the sea and continue upstream where the river finds its source,” he said.
The public was urged by Mr. Owusu-Bio to assist the government’s efforts to put a stop to unlawful mining.
“We need the full complement of all equipment;-you need drones, you need speedboats, we need trained human resources; the military, and you and I, including the media. When we come together and collaborate, we will be able to end this matter,” he added.
A superintendent of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), David Essien has told an Accra High Court that Aisha Huang used a forged marriage certificate to obtain an indefinite residence permit.
A forged Ghanaian passport is also said to have been attached to the application that culminated in the grant of the permit.
Supt. Essien said it was the detection of this situation that led the Immigration Service to revoke her permit and repatriate her out of the country.
The issue of how Aisha Huang left Ghana in 2018 remains a thorny matter. State prosecutors have previously told an Accra Circuit Courtshe fled the country.
This was a position contrary to what a government official had claimed.
Former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo had stated that was in furtherance of a business transaction with the Chinese Government.
Supt. Essien is the Attorney General’s second witness in the case in which the Chinese National is accused of engaging in illegal mining.
He started his testimony by telling the court he was tasked to investigate the accused person following a publication on Myjoyonline.com and another news portal.
The stories he said made serious allegations of illegal mining against the Chinese National. Supt Essien said he was asked to check her immigration status and the situation on the ground with regard to the allegation.
He revealed he found out that she had an indefinite residence permit. During cross-examination, lead Counsel for Aisha Huang, Nkrabeah Effah Dartey asked the Immigration officer whether his probe was only regarding her immigration status.
Supt Essien replied it bothered him as well as the allegations regarding the illegal mining.
He then gave the following details about her repatriation.
“When we examined the passport, she was on an indefinite residence permit which was granted to her based on her supposed marriage to a Ghanaian known as Anthony Fabian.
However, investigations conducted by the GIS established that the accused used a forged marriage certificate and forged ghana passport in support of her application for the indefinite residence permit.
As a result of this, the Comptroller-General revoked the indefinite residence permit on grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation in accordance which led to her subsequent repartition on December 19, 2018.“
Mr Dartey told the court he will continue with his cross-examination after conferring with his client.
It is worth noting that the trial on Monday did not commence without controversy.
Aisha Huang told the Court she could not understand an interpreter who had been tasked to assist her. A new interpreter was brought to continue with that task.
The case is back in Court on Tuesday, November 15.
Six illegal miners arrested at Dormaa East in the Bono Region have each been granted GH₵150,000.00 bail with one surety to be justified for engaging in small-scale mining without licence.
A circuit court at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality granted the bail to Benjamin Kofi Boakye, 52, farmer, Francis Akanyanga, 21, farmer, and Inusah Abdulai, 20, unemployed, when they were arraigned.
The rest were Rashid Hamza, 22, unemployed, Samuel Oteng,16, welder apprentice, and Collins Yeboah, 17, mason apprentice.
They all pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned to Tuesday, November 22.
Police Inspector (P/Inspt.) Emmanuel Asare, the prosecutor, told the court, presided by Mr Samuel Djanie Kotey, that the complainant, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Agyemang, is the Dormaa East District Chief Executive and Chairman of the District Security Committee.
He said at about 1330 hours on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, the complainant, accompanied by police officers from the District Police Command, went on an operation in some parts of the district to curb illegal mining activities.
At Supre in Dormaa-Akwamu, Boakye and Oteng, the first and fifth accused, respectively, were met engaging in illegal mining without licence in the company of others along the Supre River in different illegal mining (galamsey) pits.
He said the security team arrested Boakye and Oteng whilst the others fled, but Akanyanga, the second accused, was arrested by the roadside on his way home.
P/Inspt. Asare said the team extended the operation to the Kyeremansuo River area near Kyeremasu in the district and met Abdulai and Hamza, third and fourth accused, among others engaging in galamsey and were arrested.
He said along the Momsobour stream near Wamfie, Yeboah, the sixth accused person, was also arrested but his colleagues escaped.
One water-pumping machine, nine shovels, four pickaxes, four washing carpets, two black plastic basins, and four rubber buckets used by the accused persons were retrieved at the different sites.
During interrogations, the first accused admitted engaging in illegal mining but the rest denied the offence.
On Friday, October 28, they were arraigned at the Wamfie District Court and remanded into police custody to assist in investigations and charged with the offence, Inspt. Asare said.
A former Director of the Minerals Commission, Richard Kofi Afenu, says he disagrees with calls for the government to ban small-scale mining in the country.
According to him, banning small-scale mining is not the answer to illegal mining otherwise known as galamsey.
“I do not think a ban on small-scale mining would yield the desired result of fighting illegal mining. In 2017, a ban was imposed on mining. The question is, were are we able to root out illegal mining?”
He argues that the astronomical increase in gold production when a ban on mining was imposed in 2018, was enough evidence that a new ban will not yield the required results but will only make room for illegal mining to prevail.
Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Afenu wants the government to provide lasting solutions, including the stringent enforcement of laws that govern mining in the country.
“We need to look at the drivers, and what is causing illegal mining in the country. Let’s tackle the root cause. Let us see the powers that are backing the illegal miners”.
Already, analysts have warned Ghana risks being food and water insecure as the activities of illegal miners continue to destroy water bodies and ravage farmlands.
Religious groups, Civil Society Groups such as Green Advocate Ghana among others have called on the government to ban small-scale mining in the country.
These groups posit that both illegal and legal small-scale mining had destroyed biodiversity, hence the need for its restoration.
Personnel from the Operation Halt II team have seized 30 excavators believed to have been used in illegal mining activitiespopularly known as galamsey
Phase two of the Operation which was initially a joint military-police team was relaunched on Tuesday 11 October 2022 to fight against illegal mining in forest reserves and river bodies.
A statement signed by the Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Naval Captain Michael Addo Larbi, stated that the “Operation made some gains within the period ending Monday 31 October 2022 by seizing 30 excavators, destroyed four (4) and immobilized four (4) others on site.”
In addition to the seized excavators, the statement added that the team also “destroyed 103 Changfan machines, nine (9) water pumping machines, five (5) generator sets, two (2) fuel storage tanks and other improvised mining equipment and structures and seized an additional six (6) motorbikes and one (1) motor king tricycle.”
The scope of the operations extended from the River Pra to the Birim River.
“The operations were conducted at Kade, Ofoase, Oda, and Pra Anom along the banks of Rivers Birim and Pra in the Southern Command Area of Operational Responsibility. In the Central Command Area of Operational Responsibility, the operations were conducted at Yawkrom, Agroyesum and Takorase along the River Offin. Following these successful operations, there has been a gradual improvement in the turbidity of these Rivers.”
Some eight persons suspected to be illegal miners were also arrested at Banda Nkwanta in the Northern Command Area.
The Ghana Armed Forces prayed the general public to cooperate with the Operation to rid the country of the various destructions resulting from illegal mining activities.
Police in South Africaare investigating the discovery of at least 21 bodies of suspected illegal miners near an active mine in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg.
Police say 19 bodies were discovered on Wednesday afternoon, with two more discovered on Thursday morning. Police believe the bodies were moved to the location where they were discovered, which is a privately owned mine.
“We can confirm that this morning our search and rescue team went back to the scene and, as they were searching, they discovered two more bodies,” police spokeswoman Brenda Muridili said Thursday. “They retrieved them from an open (mine) shaft.”
The discovery is the latest in a series of incidents related to illegal mining in the Krugersdorp area. In July, eight female members of a film crew were raped and robbed at an abandoned mine in the area, where they were working on a music video shoot. The incident sparked violent protests against illegal miners in surrounding communities.
Last week, rape and robbery charges against 14 men, who are also suspected of being illegal miners, were withdrawn after police couldn’t link them to the rapes through DNA evidence. The men were among more than 80 people arrested during police raids on the abandoned mine where the rapes took place.
Illegal mining is rife in South Africa, with miners known locally as “zama zamas” searching for gold at the many disused and abandoned mines in and around the Johannesburg region. Krugersdorp is a mining town on the western edges of Johannesburg.
Illegal mining gangs, usually armed, are considered dangerous by the police and are known to fight violent turf battleswith rival groups. The trade is believed to be dominated by immigrants who enter illegally from neighboring countries Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
The 14 men who had rape and robbery charges against them dropped are accused of being in South Africa illegally and have been charged with immigration offenses.
A Ghanaian American-based preacher, Bishop Adonteng Boateng, has called on all stakeholders, including members of the clergy, to adopt a concerted approach in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Reacting to a recent viral video where members of the clergy, during a fact-finding mission, were seen praying at the bank of a river polluted by galamsey, Bishop Adonteng Boateng called for pragmatic efforts instead of fasting and prayers in battling galamsey.
“Prayers cannot stop galamsey and no amount of fasting can stop galamsey. My prayer is that the leadership of the country will rather make a concerted effort to help the people because at the end it is only a few people who benefit from galamsey at the expense of the larger population,” he told Oman Channel in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
He emphasised that while the pastors may have had a clear motive in praying at the river bank, there is however the need for practicality to be used in curbing the galamsey menace.
“I don’t know the motive with which the pastors went to pray at the river bank. It was probably to bring attention to the effects of galamsey and so I wouldn’t want to criticise them. Most of them are my fathers whom I hold in high regard,” he stated.
Several of Ghana’s water and river bodies are currently under threat from the effects of illegal mining activities. This has led to various public calls on the government to take drastic measures in fighting the menace.
Meanwhile, the Christian Council has declared Monday, October 24, 2022, to Sunday, October 30, 2022, as ‘National Week of Fasting and Prayers Against Galamsey’.
In a release dated Monday, October 17, 2022, the council said “For many years now, our sovereign country Ghana has been witnessing under our very naked eyes, the saddest “environmental coup d’éta” ever unleashed upon our nation, heralding a programmed and complete “ecological disaster” or destruction.
“We are calling for a week of fasting and prayers to pray for change of heart and for God’s mercy upon our nation for the destruction we have caused the environment 2. We call for the IMMEDIATE BAN of all small-scale mining,” it added.
Lawyer of Aisha Huang, Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, has said his client is engaged in the sale of spare parts contrary to claims that she is engaged in illegal mining (galamsey).
According to him, under no circumstance did his client engage in any activities which involved digging the ground for gold.
He adds that it’s sad that many have tagged her as ‘galamsey kingpin’ among other names.
He said he hopes the court vindicates his client despite the Attorney General’s claim that he has documents and evidence to prove otherwise.
“Aisha Huang is not involved in Galamsey; she sells spare parts for excavators. Aisha Huang has never stood on the lands of Bekwai or anywhere in the Ashanti Region to say she is digging gold. All she does is sell spare parts, but people have called her names, including galamsey kingpin. So let’s see what God will do since the matter is in court. I pray the law will be in the best interest of my client,” he said on Atinka radio during an interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
Speaking on the refusal of the court to grant his client bail, he said if the court fails to grant her continuously, he will go to a higher court for bail.
The Accra Court denied Aisha Huang’s request for bail through her lawyer.
According to the court, she will be in police custody until the case is determined due to the nature of the case and also her being a flight risk.
The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) has kicked against proposals for a ban on small-scale mining and threatened to fight any attempts by an institution to do so.
According to the GNASSM, its members are still working to recover the losses and difficulties brought on by the restriction on their operations in 2017.
The call was made in response to the ongoing environmental destruction and harm being done to water bodies around the nation as a result of illegal mining activities.
This menace has compelled the Christian Council of Ghana and other civil society groups to call for an immediate ban on all small-scale mining activities to help fight against illegal miningactivities effectively.
At a press conference on October 18, dubbed “Ecumenical Leaders Press Conference on Galamsey,” religious leaders called for an immediate ban on small-scale mining to prevent degradation and pollution of the environment.
However, speaking at a news conference in Kumasi, the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, Godwin Armah insisted members of the association would resist attempts to ban their operations.
The Association, he said, had taken note with great concern of recent Ghanaian media discourse on the contamination of rivers and water bodies and environmental damage caused by the country’s illegal mining activities, and was working feverishly to help address the threat.
He described calls for banning small-scale mining as insensitive and a lazy man’s approach in handling the illegal mining issues.
“GNASSM believes that, the regulation of the small-scale mining sector should be a shared responsibility between the Government and the Association together with all other stakeholders and that recent calls by sections of the public for a ban on the small-scale mining sector is preposterous, insensitive and a lazy man’s approach to the issue,” he stated.
The Association demanded a community enforcement approach to address the problem of illegal mining and stated that while it was a national concern, local governments should be structured effectively to control mining in their areas to prevent the problem from spreading.
To manage mining-related issues in the community, they also called for the creation of committees in mining communities. These committees must collaborate closely with the District Mining Committees and will include some traditional leaders, religious leaders, representatives from the youth, and small-scale miners.
GNASSM further proposed a restriction on the importation and use of Chanfang engines, which will make it difficult to dredge water bodies.
Mr. Armah says government officials, especially local assemblies, should ensure their localities are free of illegal mining.
Churches in Ghana will wear red banners on Sunday, October 23, 2022, to register their displeasure over the devastating effects of illegal mining, known as galamsey.
The move, according to them, is part of their planned demonstration against the government and other authorities mandated to halt illegal mining but have failed to do so.
President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, speaking on Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM’s breakfast show, “Nyansapo” on Thursday, October 20, 2022, said they would mobilize its members to embark on a massive protest to drum home their displeasure over the devastation caused by illegal mining.
“The government and authorities in charge of regulating these mining activities have consistently failed the country, and so the church is now ready to lead the fight.”
“We are leading the fight; the fight is in four phases. First, accepting our challenges and weaknesses, pledging that we won’t be part of it, telling the people that it is wrong [to engage in galamsey,” he told the programme’s host, Captain Koda.
Prof Frimpong Manso, however, disclosed that the churches would soon come out with a specific date to stage the biggest-ever demonstration against illegal mining across the country.
“On Sunday, all our churches will hoist red flags; the members will put red banners on their hands, heads, and any part of their bodies to show how unhappy the church is over the menace of galamsey.”
The Mankranso District Forest Services Division Manager, Mr. Godwin Agyemang has categorically stated that Forestry Commission has not issued permits to anyone to mine at Desiri Forest Reserve at Numesua near Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
Adding that his outfit and the forestry commission have no hands in the ongoing illegal mining, farms, and illegal loggers which present a major threat to the Reserve so they will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.
According to him, some stakeholders are doing community mining in the Desiri forest reserves which government and private developers have invested and they have made part of the reserve as a community and have erected temporal structures but the illegal activities have affected the water bodies and farmland.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Agyemang vowed that they will not allow some people to destroy the forest for their parochial interest.
He, therefore, appealed to residents and the media to collaborate with the commission to protect and preserve the reserve which has a collateral benefit for not only the area but the entire nation.
Forest reserves in the Asunafo South, Asunafo North, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, and Ahafo Ano South for a long time has been under siege by illegal loggers and farmers who with support from influential opinion leaders are destroying the reserves with impunity.
This has resulted in severe economic repercussions as some people have lost their livelihood to these activities and sometimes resulted in deaths due to violent attacks on them.
The entire nation, not just the government, must share in the failure to effectively address illegal mining and its attendant devastation.
Law lecturer and practitioner, Mr. Kwame Gyan insists the failure is a collective one, explaining that everyone has a role to play to ensure the safety of the country and its resources.
According to him, there is no need in apportioning blame to a particular government or the other.
In an interview on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Gyan said Ghanaians should focus on the impacts of the menace seen now and how it can be addressed once and for all.
Kwame Gyan
He insisted that, until that is done, the menace will continue resurfacing after fights upon fights by governments.
“The fight against illegal mining (galamsey) is a collective fight. What we are all calling a failure is a collective failure. We shouldn’t blame anybody. So if you sit here today and say it is the current government that has failed in the fight, I will not agree.
Kwame Gyan
“We Ghanaians, any time we fall, love to concentrate on where we have fallen instead of concentrating on where we slipped and fell.
“So, we should not look at just what we are seeing today and ascribe responsibility that it is just this current government that has not been able to deal with galamsey or illegal mining,” he insisted.
The government’s anti-galamsey policies and strategies have come under criticism with many questioning the will to rid the country of the menace.
Last week, the Akufo-Addo administration came under fire from Asantehene, who claims the much-touted fight is shrouded in falsehood.
According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the fight would remain a sham unless the appropriate individuals, particularly financiers, who are responsible for the illegal mining scourge, are identified.
“Are they saying they don’t know those behind galamsey in Ghana? The gold ends up being sold abroad. So who is behind the sale of gold abroad? Is it not the financier? How come he is not arrested?”
But Mr Gyan believes everyone has a role to play in ending the menace.
The President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, has said the argument that people are actively engaged in illegal mining due to a lack of jobs should not be encouraged.
According to the council, the lack of jobs should not be the reason for perpetuating illegality and causing environmental degradation.
In an interview with Citi News, Rev. Frimpong Manso said “what you are saying [with this argument] is that the end justifies the means, and if we do this, somebody will go and sell drugs because there are no jobs.”
“When we bring these kinds of things into our national discourse, then we are not aiming for development and progress,” he added.
The government has in the past few years launched and implemented strategies to help deal with the illegal mining problem and its effects on the environment.
But illegal mining has remained on the ascendancy as river bodies, forest reserves and farmlands have all been destroyed.
Rev. Frimpong-Manso also lamented the failure of institutions to strictly enforce mining laws.
“The institutions are not working,” he complained.
Rev. Frimpong-Manso thus said a ban on all mining needed to be put in place “until processes and procedures have been put in place.”
