The objective to end illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, may not be easy to accomplish as some illegal miners are threatening to vote out the Nana Akufo-Addo government if galamsey is banned.
Some illegal miners at Akwatia in the Eastern Region, told Accra-based Joy FM in an interview that they would vote out the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as soon as they are thrown out of the galamsey business.
According to them, galamsey is their source of livelihood and given the high unemployment rate in the country, it is the only job they depend on at the moment.
The miners said poverty would grip their souls if the government went with the plan to ban galamsey
“Does the Lands Minister [Peter Amewu] want us to sit home?. I have sat home for eight years and we want to make money because our government is in power but they want to stop us,†one illegal miner said.
Their threat comes as the government intensifies efforts to end galamsey, which is fast destroying swaths of land and rivers in several parts of the country.
Of even more concern is the activities of Chinese citizens, who are aggressively engaging in galamsely, destroying lands, rivers and even restricted forests in the process.
A media campaign against Chinese involvement in galamsey has drawn condemnation from the China Mission in Ghana, which has sent a message to the government, claiming negative media reportage on the matter.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to the illegal mining issue. The position of the Chinese government on this issue is consistent and clear cut. The Chinese is firmly opposed to the involvement of the Chinese citizens in illegal mining Ghana and supports the efforts taken by the Ghanaian government to tackle the illegal mining issue within the legal framework."
The Chinese mission however considers the media campaign and efforts to fight galamsey a deviation from what they think should be the framework in fighting galamsey in Ghana.We sincerely hope that the Ghanaian government shall take responsibility of guiding the media and requesting them not to publicise such defamatory reports or stories against Chinese leaders officials and the Chinese government," China said in a letter to the ministry of lands and natural resources.
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