Mireku Duker to Ghanaians: Let’s fight “galamsey” devoid of partisan politics
George Mireku Duker has called on Ghanaians to engage actively in addressing the persistent issue of illegal mining/galamsey, which continues to pose threats to water bodies and forest reserves
The deputy minister of lands and natural resources responsible for mining, George Mireku Duker, has called for an all-hands-on-deck approach in tackling illegal mining in Ghana, also known as galamsey.
He wants Ghanaians to engage actively to address the persistent issue of illegal mining, which continues to pose threats to water bodies and forest reserves.
According to the Attorney General, as at May 2023, 727 individuals in total were standing trial across the country over alleged involvement in illegal mining.
Godfred Dame said the 727 people were involved in 117 cases pending before various high courts and circuit courts.
The Eastern Region accounted for 50 of the 117 cases. There were 33 in the Western Region, 23 in the Ashanti Region and seven in Greater Accra, with the Upper East and Northern Regions recording three cases and one, respectively.
Speaking on the threat pose by illegal mining on The Pulse on the Accra-based Joy News on Tuesday (16 July), Duker called for an end to the politicisation of the fight against illegal mining in Ghana.
“Let’s come together as a country,” he urged. “Let’s decide that it is time for us to stand against these illegalities.
“Let’s do away with politics as far as fighting this canker is concerned. If we have done [galamsey] in the past, let’s stop: it is time to stop.
“Let’s come together and protect our river bodies and have a serene mining sector, and I will be happy to have my sector being cleaned.
“A sector that we can be proud of, a sector that other foreign countries are praising Ghana [for] because we have distinguished ourselves.
“It’s time that we are leading in Africa in terms of gold production in Africa. It’s time that we have found lithium and we have made mining so attractive, even to the opposition,” Mireku Duker said.
Listen to George Mireku Duker speaking about galamsey in the audio clip attached below:
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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