The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has pledged to maintain integrity in the fight against illegal mining, saying he would rather die fighting the menace than allow himself to be corrupted.
“I would choose to fight with integrity and die than be corrupted in this dangerous work that will destroy all of us. And that is the pledge we have made to the people of Ghana,” he said.
The minister made the pledge after travelling about 16 kilometres along the Ankobra River last Thursday to assess the operations against illegal mining in the Western Region.
He said the government would not relent in its efforts to dismantle illegal mining operations and identify the financiers and sponsors behind them.
Progress
Mr Buah said intensified and intelligence-led operations had resulted in the removal of nearly 3,000 changfan machines from water bodies and more than 237 arrests, including 144 foreign nationals.
He said the figures reflected the government’s determination to move beyond sporadic raids and establish sustained security operations at illegal mining hotspots.
The minister said the security agencies had also succeeded in dismantling makeshift mining equipment and removed armed groups that had previously operated along the Ankobra River.
He described the progress as a significant turnaround from the situation that existed in the area over the past year, when the river had become heavily occupied by illegal mining equipment and activities.
“If you had actually visited the Ankobra in the last one year, where the whole river was basically a workshop where changfan machines were being manufactured all over.
“But today, I can tell you that through all the mileage we've covered, the Ankobra is completely cleared of changfan machines,” he said.
Mr Buah said the government was, however, not claiming victory yet, stressing that restoring the river to its desired environmental condition would require sustained action.
Working visit
The visit formed part of the minister’s assessment of operations by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), in collaboration with the Navy Special Forces under Operation Water Shield.
The lands minister commended the security personnel involved in the operations, particularly for their efforts to reclaim water bodies from illegal miners and restore confidence in the government’s fight against galamsey.
He said the presence of armed groups along the Ankobra had previously posed a major challenge to security personnel working to stop illegal mining activities.
“Today, we don't see thugs along the Ankobra that were pointing guns at security forces, because they know they will pay a price,” he said.
Mr Buah said the removal of the illegal mining equipment and the decline in the presence of armed groups showed that the government’s strategy was beginning to yield results.
He commended Colonel Appiah, his team and the Special Forces for their contribution to the operations.
The minister also said President John Mahama remained committed to the fight, and had expressed his support for the security agencies involved.
Intelligence-led operations
Mr Buah said the government had deliberately changed its approach to combating illegal mining by relying more on intelligence and maintaining permanent deployments rather than conducting isolated raids.
He said the destruction of mining equipment alone was not enough, as the government also needed to identify and pursue the individuals and groups financing illegal mining operations.
“Our next phase is continuing to fish them out.
And we are going to continue to fight all the way—those sponsors, those financiers—until we win this fight,” he said.
Mr Buah added that the results recorded so far justified the government’s decision to adopt a more sustained approach.
The minister said the government was also pursuing alternative approaches to reducing the incentive for young people to engage in illegal mining.
He said some young people who had previously been involved in illegal mining had moved into cooperative and responsible small-scale mining programmes.
Mr Buah said the government had combined training and capacity building programmes with efforts to demonstrate that gold could be mined without destroying the country’s rivers and forests.
“You can look for gold without destroying our water bodies and our forests.
You can look for the gold without damaging our environment.
You can look for gold responsibly and sustainably.
And that is the future we are looking for,” he said.
Mr Buah then urged the security agencies and other stakeholders involved in the anti-galamsey campaign to maintain the momentum and remain focused on protecting Ghana’s water bodies, forests and other natural resources.
