The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, has stated that the government will keep burning excavators and other machinery used in small-scale mining otherwise known as ‘galamsey’.
This he said is to deter people from giving out their excavators for galamsey activities.
He warned that the move is to deal ruthlessly with big men behind the illegal mining menace.
He warned that government will not watch aloof for small-scale miners to destroy lands and water bodies.
The Regional Minister added that health workers in the region report that kidney cases have gone up due to activities by small-scale miners.
Mr. Darko-Mensah said government will not allow the activities of small-scale miners to destruct governance in the country.
“We will keep burning excavators till small-scale miners (galamseyers) stop purchasing such machines. We will definitely burn excavators used to destroy our water bodies. We will burn the excavators so that the big men who have lost their sense of reasoning will be hit the most. The mercury they use in mining directly affects Ghanaians, it’s killing so many people. Dr. Afriyie says kidney cases have gone up in the region due to galamsey. We won’t sit down for this to continue. We will not allow galamseyers to intimidate us. If we allow them to operate, they will continue to destruct governance in the country and create problems, so anyone with plans to purchase excavators for small-scale mining in the 2024 election year will think twice,” Mr. Darko-Mensah said on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo.
He questioned how the country will benefit from the region if small-scale mining activities continue without proper checks.
“We want to continue to support this country, so we will not allow small-scale mining (galamsey) to go on. Out of 700,000 metric tons of cocoa produced in Ghana, 444,000 metric tons came from the Western region, so if we allow galamsey in the region how will Ghana benefit from the region,” he asked on on the show.