The Small Scale Miners Association is alleging that the majority of foreigners who are engaged in illegal mining popularly known as galamsey are from China.
President of the Association, Mr. Michael Kojo Peprah, says most of the Chinese engaged in galamsey started coming into the country in 2008.
He is claiming that after the Chinese were contracted to construct stadia for the CAN 2008, they discovered the country was endowed with gold, and so they refused to go back.
These individuals, he stated, also informed others who came to join them, and since then they have been coming to the country to engage in the illegal activity.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Road 87.5FM, Mr. Peprah noted that there are political leaders and officials of state who are fronting for these foreigners to cause destruction to our water bodies and forest reserves.
He attributes the failure on the part of the government to deal with galamsey to wisdom problems and greed.
He said those responsible for addressing the problem are the ones fronting for the illegal miners, and so when they deal with the problem, they will no longer have a source of income.
“CAN 2008, Ghana needed stadia, so we contracted the Chinese to construct them for us. They came in with excavators for the stadia. So after they finished constructing the stadia, they realised Ghana was endowed with gold, so they started excavating through the mining towns in the Western Region with the support of some Ghanaians. So our water bodies started being destroyed from 2008 through 2010. So you look at the chronology, the pollution and destruction of our water bodies started when the Chinese started arriving in Ghana.”
He called for their arrest since he believes it would help solve 80 percent of the problems associated with the galamsey menace.
‘’Let’s start at arresting these illegal miners, and we would have solved 80% of the problem. But you suggest this; our leaders don’t want to talk about it because that is where they get money from. It was just recently that two journalists arrested two Chinese nationals who were engaged in galamsey. Ask yourself, Was there not a commander in the area? Ask yourself, Are there not BNI officials there? Is there no DCE in the area they went to? Do you want to tell me that REGSEC is unaware that some foreigners were engaging in illegal mining there? It tells you that the people who are supposed to fight galamsey are the same individuals destroying our forest reserves and water bodies through their illegal mining activities.”
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