George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, is encouraging all Ghanaians to actively support the fight against illegal mining, also known as “galamsey.”
He emphasizes that the government cannot win this battle alone and requires the support and involvement of all citizens.
During a tour of mining sites in the Western Region, Mr. Mireku Duker also urged illegal miners to consider the community mining scheme as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative.
“Ghanaians must understand and know what they are fighting,” Mr. Duker said. “People are so determined that whatever happens they will go the extra mile to mine without following regulations. That is why as a ministry, we have also organized this community mining concept, asking them to move out of our river bodies. Come and join the community mining, where it is organized and the government is providing mining machines for you to mine and mine responsibly.”
In a speech at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo noted that the ban on galamsey, which has been destroying water bodies and forest reserves, has helped to reduce the country’s carbon emissions.
“We placed a ban on illegal mining the phenomenon we call galamsey which was destroying our water bodies, vegetation and our forest. Some 20, 000 young people have been engaged to plant more than 30 million trees in two years to create jobs and restore degraded lands.”
“These policy initiatives are already yielding positive results in the attainment of SDG Goals, particularly the goal of reducing our carbon emissions,” President Akufo-Addo said.
However, in September 2023, Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, the convener of the Media Coalition against Illegal Mining, disagreed with President Akufo-Addo’s assertion.
