A gentleman who claims to be engaged in illegal mining (galamsey) has warned the President Nana Akufo-Addo not to proceed with plans to put an end to the illegal activity.
In a video shared on social media, the young bearded man who calls himself Bronzy and a resident of East Legon said the president and his government must re consider their plans before they destroy their business.
In the video Bronzy showed a pit he claims to own which had several illegal miners busily operating at the time he shot the video.
He also showed off an excavator, which he said he owned and was being used for his operations.
“Nana Akufo Addo we’ve heard you expressing your intention to stop galamsey, we’re begging you, now that you’re in power please be patient with us. This is the work we do to survive and cater for our family. Look at the people in my pit working, these are wifes and children of ther people. We didn’t vote for you to harass us and collapse our business. Don’t brag that you’ll end illegal mining, if it were possible to put a stop to the galamsey you wouldn’t have come to meet it. Don’t come and bother us with your intention to have all small scale mining activities registered, we’ve heard enough of that. Look at these people in my pit working, these are the very people who voted you so be patient with us.”
His comments come following a three-week ultimatum issued by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, to all illegal miners to stop their activities or face prosecution.
“This time round, we will not take things lightly because we believe that China and India are the sources of funding for these illegal miners; so we are dealing with the root cause of the menace,” Mr Amewu said in an interview with Graphic Online on Tuesday.
He had earlier indicated that his outfit will start using drones to augment its efforts to effectively combat illegal mining to ensure the protection of the country’s water bodies and the environment.
Galamsey has destroyed several of the country’s water bodies, resulting in them drying up.
This has resulted in the pollution of water the Ghana Water Company Limited, treats and supplies to the populace.
