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Military deployment to fight galamsey can’t be solution to problem; experts declear
Environmental experts including scientists have watered down growing concerns by some civil society organizations and individuals who have called on government to declare a state of emergency as far as the fight against illegal mining is concerned.
They were of the firm believe that the galamsey fight has not gotten to a crescendo or a state of hopelessness where by government would have to throw it’s hands into despair and declare a state of emergency
One of the experts Dr Albert Ekow Amisah who is a scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research was of the view that using the military to combat the galamsey menace has never solved the problem and cannot be sustainable neither would it make any meaningful impact.
Dr Amisah was speaking to Journalists at a sensitization workshop organized by the Minerals Development Fund for small scale miners in Kumasi.
The miners were taken through processes towards reclamation of the land, international best practices for mining and the dangers associated with haphazard mining..
Dr Amisah believed that joblessness is a major factor that is underpinning the operations and that the earlier the mining laws are enforced so that large mining firms can employ the local folks the better for the nation.
” What the people are doing is just digging for survival since they have no alternative sources of livelihood” he stated.
According to him, there are UN treaties , laws and conventions regarding declaration of state of emergency and that Ghana is not there yet as far as galamsey fight is concerned.
What needs to be done to minimize the cancer he said is for the large companyies to absorb the people , train them on the job and give them better conditions of service.
This he said Wil let them feel part of the system and issue of illegal mining will go down drastically.
Meanwhile some of the miners have expressed concerns about harassment by some security operatives and some tax force groups.
They how ever pledged to go back more equipped to improve upon responsible mining and reclamation.
