Security expert, Prof. Kwesi Aning has labeled the galamsey phenomenon in Ghana as a form of transnational organized crime.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on September 2, 2024, Prof. Aning warned that these illegal mining activities are not only an existential threat to Ghana but are also harming the country’s international standing.
His comments come in the wake of a report from Ghana Water Limited, which has highlighted the challenges of providing water to parts of the Central Region due to pollution of the Pra River caused by galamsey activities.
“This has moved beyond ordinary citizens. We are talking about levels of collusion spanning every single facet of the state and transnational organized criminality of citizens from different countries whose activities, not only in the galamsey but for the purposes of today, it’s galamsey and the way it’s polluting waters, is posing an existential threat to Ghana, raising tensions between Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.
“But even more disturbingly, the monies that are accrued from these activities are placing our international reputation at risk because it contributes to illicit financial flows and the funding of violent extremist activities elsewhere,” he said.
Prof. Kwesi Aning has called the country’s inability to address galamsey activities a disgrace.
He suggested that there may be involvement or facilitation of illegal mining by some state officials, citing the Aisha Huang case as an example.
“For every state where its leaders either collude, are incapable, or unwilling to use the power that they have been given in trust for generations yet unborn and deliberately allow others to come in from other countries to do what is happening, it is not only shameful but a disgrace.
“Because the heavy equipment, if I want to disaggregate those who are involved, somebody gives visas to the Chinese to come here, and the Aisha Huang case was very clear about the levels of state incompetence and the levels of state collusion.
“Nobody knew whether she had left this country, nobody knew when she had come back, nobody could dismantle her network, and we stood on the sidelines, and as one of my panelists said, just talk,” he added.
He emphasized that although Ghanaians’ involvement in illegal mining may have started on a smaller scale, it has evolved beyond mere illicit small-scale mining due to the significant investments now involved.
“… I like the statement the Chinese ambassador made a couple of years ago that ‘stop talking about China because who gives them the visa to come to this country.’ Every embassy in Ghana has an intelligence officer there to assess the visa application.
“So, we need to put a mirror in front of us, and then we need to tickle ourselves and laugh because we are just not doing what we are paid with the taxpayer’s money to do. So right now, if you look at the levels of investment in the galamsey, the Ghanaian component of that investment is very small. It’s moved from illicit small-scale to something else,” he said.