Dr Cadman Mills, brother of the late President John Atta Mills, shares his honest opinion on how he thinks the government is handling the fight against galamsey. He believes that a state of emergency is the right call for the government to prove its seriousness to stop illegal mining in the country.
Dr. Mills made this assertion on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, September 23. He was asked if he supports the call for the state of emergency to be declared in certain areas.
‘’If for no other reason than the psychological impact, that says look, we’re not playing around. I think it needs to be done. and more importantly, we’ve to call the government to task.’’
According to him, the government is also conflicted about stopping galamey due to the benefits they gain from their operations.
“The benefit that clearly the government is receiving because they are diverting the foreign exchange that have gone into unofficial channels into the official channels is doing a lot to stabilise the value of the cedi. As a result of it, they feel comfortable buying gold from so-called licensed miners.’’
He went on to explain that Ghana’s fight against illegal mining has taken a troubling turn, not because of a lack of laws, but because many so-called “licensed miners” are not genuine operators. Instead, they act as financiers of galamsey, using exploration permits as a cover to bankroll destructive mining activities.
‘’A lot of these licensed miners are not miners, but they are only bankrolling galamsey, they own a license to explore, they don’t own a license to mine,’’ he added.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Mirabel Serwaa Asante
