Create anti-galamsey unit in Army – Collins Dauda to Govt
Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, Collins Dauda, has called on the government to establish a permanent unit within the Ghana Armed Forces to lead the fight against illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
According to the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, current efforts to curb illegal mining have proven ineffective, with ad-hoc task force deployments failing to produce lasting results.
Speaking to journalists after a tour of some galamsey-affected sites, Mr. Dauda described the government’s current approach as reactive and unsustainable.
He proposed the creation of a dedicated military unit to be permanently stationed around river bodies and forest reserves, ensuring sustained protection against illegal mining activities.
“The practice where anytime we hear of an illegal operation in Tano Offin Forest Reserve, we deploy a task force, who go in there for a number of days, the people go into hiding, and when the task force leaves, they go back to the mines, you cannot resolve this matter this way. That, for me, is a knee-jerk reaction to cover up the problem.
“To deal with it, in my view, is that we can have a unit of the military deployed to be permanently around the river bodies, forest reserves, and nobody will dare to go and mine in there. If we are able to do it for a number of years, it will die off completely,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Samuel Jinapor, the Member of Parliament for Damongo and former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has expressed concern over the government’s approach to combating illegal mining.
In an interview on Channel One TV’s “The Point of View” with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, April 16, Jinapor stated that the galamsey situation has deteriorated under the current administration.
He emphasized the need for the government to act decisively on its commitment to address the issue.
Jinapor highlighted that the worsening state of illegal mining activities necessitates urgent and effective measures.
He called on the government to fulfill its promises and implement strategies to curb galamsey, which continues to pose significant environmental and economic challenges to the country.
Source: channel1news