Deputy National Director of AROCHA Ghana, an environmental advocacy group, Daryl Bosu, has strongly criticised recent calls to suspend the fight against illegal mining, warning that such a move would endanger Ghana’s environmental protection efforts.
His reaction follows a statement by National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Organiser, Joseph Yamin, who last week urged President John Dramani Mahama to halt all anti-illegal mining operations. Yamin alleged that some task force members involved in the crackdown were engaging in extortion and misconduct rather than tackling the problem.
The NDC executive made the call at Bonteso in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region on Thursday, August 21, after a confrontation between community members and the Inspector-General of Police’s task force. He argued that the Police and Military should lead the campaign, claiming that certain task forces had turned the exercise into a money-making venture.
However, Mr. Bosu in an interview on Monday, August 25, cautioned that suspending anti-galamsey operations would erode years of progress and embolden those destroying Ghana’s forests and water bodies.
He stressed that instead of halting the campaign, government must focus on strengthening coordination, professionalism, and oversight within the task forces to prevent abuses.
“It is, for me, a call for the government to put their house in order,” he said. “They cannot win this fight if the frontlines are divided and confusion persists. Suspending operations against illegal mining only sends the wrong message and undermines the struggle to protect our environment.”
