President John Dramani Mahama has announced a shift in the government's approach to combating illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
Instead of burning excavators seized from illegal mining sites, President Mahama has instructed the task force leading the fight to confiscate the equipment.
“I’ve told them not to burn the excavators, they should confiscate them,” the President said.
President Mahama announced this during a meeting with members of the Christian Council of Ghana at the Jubilee House last Friday.
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Led by the Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr Hilliard Dela Dogbe, they called on President Mahama to congratulate him on his victory in the December 7, 2024 general election and assured him of the Council's support for his administration.
New strategy
President Mahama said the new strategy adopted to fight galamsey was to disrupt the operations of illegal miners while preserving valuable equipment that could be repurposed for legitimate mining activities.
He acknowledged the economic impact of galamsey on the livelihoods of approximately 1.8 million Ghanaians engaged in small-scale mining.
Despite its economic benefits, President Mahama insisted on responsible mining practices to prevent environmental destruction.
he President said the destruction of the environment could not be justified by the economic impact of illegal mining activities.
He said 44 out of the country’s 288 forest reserves had been degraded by the activities of illegal miners.
However, President Mahama stated that the government's efforts to combat galamsey had yielded positive results, with illegal miners being flushed out of the Tano Nimri Forest which was recently invaded by illegal miners.
He added that the operation was now focused on other affected forest reserves, with a mobile team on standby to prevent the return of illegal miners.
Support
Rev. Dr Dogbe pledged the support of the Christian Council of Ghana to the government's efforts to combat illegal mining.
"We want to appeal to you strongly that you should do all within your power to make sure that we see the end of this disaster," Rev. Dr Dogbe said.
The Christian Council Chairman explained that the threat of illegal mining was serious and must be considered as such at the highest level of decision-making in the country.
“It's very worrying. It's very, very worrying. Yes, it is true that we also recognise that most of these people who are involved in this are also members of our churches,” he said.
“We also have a responsibility to educate them to the best of our interest. But we also need the people who have the political power, who have the authority to wield that power in the best interest of helping to curb it,” Rev. Dr Dogbe added.
He said while the Church would do its part to educate and admonish its members, the power lay in the hands of the President to exercise his authority.
"We can speak to the moral conscience of the people, they can choose not to listen, but beyond the moral conscience, we appeal, you have the authority to say no. If you do it, these are the consequences. And once you strike that strongly, I'm sure it will go across,” he said.
Leadership
Rev. Dr Dogbe was optimistic that with good leadership, most of the nation's problems could be solved.
As a result, he said the council had over the past two years been holding the ethical leadership conferences focused on empowering people for leadership and to uphold ethical standards.
“One of our greatest assets as a Christian body is prayer. So we want to assure you of our prayer support and also of our physical support in whatever way we can,” the Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana said.
