Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, says the resurgence of galamsey activities in the country is a testament of the failure of government.
According to him, the failure of government to use its extensive powers to protect the natural resources of the country against marauding illegal miners is “simply a disturbing phenomenon” and it tells of government’s involvement in the illegality.
His comment is in reaction to JoyNews’ Erastus Asare Donkor’s follow-up documentary on ‘Destruction for Gold’ which shows a resurgence of galamsey activities on the Tano River despite government announcing a ban on mining activities in forest reserves and close to water bodies.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, the Ranking Member described the scenes as obnoxious and blamed government for failing to exercise its mandate to protect the natural environment.
“This is a testimony of the failure of government. It’s very obnoxious about what is happening, it is very repulsive because government itself came out in April 2021 to say that it has banned mining in some specific areas including across rivers and forest areas and forest reserves.
“And what we are seeing today is exactly what they said they have banned. And it tells of government itself involvement, government’s inability to do what it has promised the people of Ghana, the complete failure of governance in the galamsey industry, the inability of government to protect those resources that define Ghana’s riches and it’s simply a disturbing phenomenon,” he said.
He added that the scenes were reminiscent of slavery and was appalled at the blatant impunity with which Chinese nationals were operating alongside their Ghanaian counterparts in the country’s forest reserves and water bodies.
“I cannot imagine that our people are reduced to this level of slavery by external people. You saw the Chinese there in their numbers and mining as and when they like, they go into river areas they destroy the place, Africans are there in their numbers, Ghanaians are there in their numbers not wearing clothes, not wearing enough boots and they’re sinking into rivers and in waters and dams trying to get gold and getting themselves destroyed whiles their masters, the Chinese there who are labourers for other people are also watching them from above.
“And our leaders who are supposed to get the rights we have given them, the mandate we have given them to protect the land to ensure the resources are preserved not for today’s generation, but also for tomorrow’s generation is being destroyed under their watch. It’s so disturbing. I mean, it just shows that these are not leaders at all. It shows that we are on an automatic kind of craft,” he bemoaned.
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