Freelance journalist Edem Srem has voiced serious concerns about the damaging effects of illegal mining, known as galamsey, in Ghana.
Srem identified the Western, Ashanti, Eastern, and Western North regions as the most severely impacted by this illegal activity.
According to him, the Western Region ranks highest in galamsey incidents, followed by the Ashanti Region in second place, and the Eastern Region as the third most affected.
In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Srem explained, “If I were to rank the regions in terms of illegal mining or galamsey, the Western Region is at the top, followed by the Ashanti Region, Eastern Region, and then Western North.
There are also smaller occurrences in areas like Ahafo, Bono, and Bono East, but those are less significant.”
He highlighted the severe environmental damage caused by galamsey, particularly in notorious hotspots.
Ayamfuri and Bogoso, he noted, have suffered the worst destruction of water bodies and forests, with miners operating around the clock, even encroaching into towns. Other affected areas include Dadieso, Akonsia, and Wassa Akropong.
“I will not even limit it to the Western Region, the whole of Ghana, now the place that has become more notorious for indiscriminate mining as I want to put it is between Ayamfuri and Bogoso.
“On that stretch, you will see that it is happening day and night, that is where the mining activity is causing a lot of havoc to the land and the forest and they are even digging in towns, they are mining in towns.
“So you can imagine what will happen to people in those places that have nothing to do with the mining. So you have towns like Dadieso, Akonsia, Jaman, Gyapa, Wassa Akropong, Ayamfuri, Diaso, all those areas there’s massive mining happening,” he stated.
