It is imperative to note that taxes are not paid to chiefs. Beyond that, traditional leaders do not have access to the military, police and other security intelligence agencies to apprehend individuals involved in Galamsey.
Chiefs are not constitutionally empowered to arrest or punish those involved in Galamsey. Furthermore, they do not possess the necessary resources and budget to address this issue.
It is worth noting that President Mahama and our NDC family have outlined detailed solutions in their manifesto to address the Galamsey menace.
We elected a president and a political party that promised to address Galamsey within their first 100 days in office. While some of their chair-leaders guaranteed a one-week solution to the problem, others, currently ministers suggested declaring a state of emergency. Please do not shift responsibilities!!!
Sammy Gyamfi of Goldbod reiterated on Metro TV that the fight against Galamsey is not a shared responsibility, it is the government and President's problem. Please leave the chiefs alone.
We have compelling evidence of some chiefs who are neck deep in Galamsey activities. In the same vein, we have chiefs who continuously chastise the government to approach the Galamsey fight in a more serious manner.
Let's equally remember that we have Politicians, Assembly men and women, DCEs, MCEs, MPs, Party officials, Ministers of state, CEOs, Government appointees, Religious leaders, Police personnel, Military personnel and Ordinary members of society who are all complicit in Galamsey activities.
Therefore, the best way to address this cancer is for the central government to adopt a more inclusive and pragmatic approach to dealing with it.
Galamsey operations are having a devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the elderly, resulting in significant loss of life. The financial gains accrued by 10 individuals as a result of illegal mining comes at the cost of over a million innocent Ghanaian lives. We urge the government and President Mahama to stop Galamsey NOW.
The voice of Dr Richard Yeboah Asante
