A former Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, HE George Ayisi Boateng has said that the surest way to put an abrupt end to the galamsey menace which is fast depleting the country's natural resources is to shoot and kill those who are adamant to the government's call of withdrawing from galamsey sites.
Defending his earlier argument, he didn't understand why people's selfish interests and quest for insatiable needs should cause the destruction of the forest reserves and deny some people their livelihood.
Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he commended the government for its bold step to stop the illegal mining act, but however added that the burning of excavators will not only solve the problem.
" . . they should also shoot to kill the recalcitrant ones who have defied the government's order and are constantly engaging in illegal mining," he suggested.
"These illegal miners are constantly thwarting Akufo Addo's effort to end illegal mining. I know the President has good plans for the country but these illegal miners who think they need money more than our fathers who used their blood to protect these natural resources are using all foul means to destroy the land and water bodies."
He reiterated that the government through the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources is doing a good job and the soldiers involved in the "Operation Halt" should compliment the government's effort by ensuring that the equipment and machinery of these illegal miners are totally burnt and destroyed.
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200 Soldiers Deployed To Fight Galamsey
A contingent of 200 troops has been deployed to clamp down on illegal mining activities destroying the country’s water bodies.
President Akufo-Addo directed the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to deploy the soldiers in a renewed effort against illegal mining.
A statement from the Information Ministry, which made the announcement, said the team commenced the operation on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, on the River Pra in the Central and Western Regions.
It added that the move was to ensure that mining within water bodies is immediately stopped.
This latest action to fight the menace, popularly known as galamsey, comes after the Stakeholder Dialogue on Small Scale Mining on April 14.
Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]
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