Wechiau (U/W), April 17,– Mr
Edward Laabir, the District Chief Executive for Wa West in Upper West Region
has said that poor road network within the District obstructs monitoring of
galamsey operations, thereby, not helping to sustain the fight.
Following the ban on Galamsey by
the District Security Committee (DISEC), he said, several attempts have been
made to monitor galamsey sites in the District but inadequate logistics and
personnel including: “the poor road network impede monitoring operations in the
District.”
Mr Laabir was speaking in Wechau
during a Town Hall Meeting organised by Media Coalition Against Galamsey on the
theme: “#StopGalamsey: Ways to ensure Sustainable small scale Mining for
Development of Ghana.”
“The Police Service in the
District had only one vehicle which unfortunately was recently involved in an
accident. Two motor bikes were also procured for the Service but that is
woefully inadequate due to the large size of the district.”
Illegal mining has received a lot
of attention over the years and with wide public knowledge of its negative
effects, the Wa West District Assembly through the DISEC, banned the galamsey
operations and felling of rosewood.
The DCE explained that there was
an emergence of illegal mining operations in Joleyiri in the Tanina electoral
area of the District where their operations were becoming more devastating and
could not be allowed to continue.
“Within a matter of four days of
operation, an area of about 10 hectors was cleared by illegal miners numbering
about 1,500,” he added.
In view of the serious nature of
the unlawful activities, Mr Laabir said, the DISEC collaborated with the
Regional Security Council and a joint operation comprising of the military,
Police and Immigration Services in April 2016 were formed to flush out the
illegal miners.
He said the team had so far
arrested 31 people out of which 13 were foreigners, and warned that the
District would continue to work with the limited logistics to flush out
perpetrators.
He added that some traditional
authorities and assembly members have been ‘educated’ and tasked to monitor to
report about galamsey operations in their communities to the DISEC, but their
activities had been hampered by poor logistics and bad road networks.
“We are currently monitoring
galamsey sites at Polee, Eggu, Oli, Maayeyire and Boodia-Baa and we have
assured them that anyone found guilty in such acts including our traditional
rulers would be made to face full rigors of the law.”
Dr Anthony A. Duah, Senior
Research Scientist at CSIR-Water Research Institute warned of the devastating
effects on education and water bodies which could deprive several generations
of their livelihood if nothing concrete was done to protect Ghana’s
environment.
He said many Ghanaian children
have now abandoned school to engage in illegal mining activities while many
water bodies have also been destroyed due to toxic chemicals used by the
miners.
GNA
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