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A Senior Economist at the UNDP, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, has said the primary reason for the rise in the number of illegal miners in Ghana is the dysfunctional nature of its institutions. Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, Dr Thompson said the widely circulated proposition of deporting the illegal miners from the country did not constitute a comprehensive approach to solving the problem. �If we just zero in on the Chinese and let�s say we deport every single Chinese today, I wouldn�t matter. If we don�t have Chinese galamsey we will have Ghanaian galamsey,� he observed. Media reports have been rife in recent weeks of the activities of illegal Chinese miners in various parts of the country with the latest being the activities of some Chinese miners in the Ashanti Regional town of Manso-Nsiana. There were clashes between the residents of the area last week following protests about the negative effects of the mining activities on their lives. The cases of foreigners engaged in illegal mining in the country, however, are not restricted to the Chinese. The activities of three Spaniards engaged in the trade were quelled when the Eastern Regional police command clamped down on their activities at Abomosu in the Atiwa District. According to Dr Thompson, the situation which started off on a small scale, has gotten worse over time because of weak institutions in the country. He opined: �There is something fundamentally wrong with our society. We need to look at ourselves from that respect. What is happening with �galamsey� is simply symptomatic of that institutional dysfunction that we have in Ghana� What were they doing when the first, second, the third, the twentieth, and the fiftieth started operating person started operating?� �We need to have a broader discussion. It happens in almost every aspect of our lives,� he noted. In his opinion, the citizenry had a key role to play in reversing the trend. �The citizens themselves need to be aware, as to their own rights and responsibilities, in terms of enforcing and making sure the proper thing is done by bringing these to the attention of those who should be doing something but are not doing anything,� Dr. Thompson said. �We also need to hold leaders of these public institutions accountable.�