The Member of Parliament for Tempane, Joseph Dindiok Kpemka believes that the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is a tougher battle than the fight against corruption.
Speaking on Newsfile, on Saturday, he explained that there is a mass movement of young men, who have lost interest in making an honest living, moving to areas, mostly affected by galamsey, to join in the menace.
“Go to the rural areas, at this time of the year the majority of the young men are not at home…they are not prepared to go to school, they want to cut corners, do galamsey and make money,” Mr Kpemka said.
He added that “a young man came home recently with a landcruiser V8 with three guards, what is his work? Galamsey. They all come back home to acquire assets and put up houses.”
Mr Kpemka noted that despite the increase in this phenomenon, none of these people have been arrested or penalised to dissuade others from also engaging in illegal mining.
“The fight against galamsey is more difficult than the fight against corruption. We are nowhere near winning the battle against galamsey. I will say we have just started the battle,” the MP said.
This comes after some illegal miners invaded an underground pit of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine.
The miners, who were initially reported to have been trapped, entered the underground shaft in search of gold deposits however the entry point the miners used was closed.
But in a May 30 statement, the company clarified that unauthorized individuals who enter the mine are able to exit on foot through the existing ramp and main access points, and no one has been confined underground.
The DCE for Obausi East told JoyNews that some of the miners feared they would be arrested and as a result held back on using the designated exist.
“When they go through their own access and coming back they realised its block, they exaggerate things and make it seem like people are dying so they get public sympathy,” Faustina Amissah said.
However, former MP Inusah Fuseini believes that illegal mining activities in the country result from the actions of corrupt leaders.
Also speaking on Newsfile, he stressed that, corrupt actions of leaders have led to illegal activity, adding that both corruption and illegal mining require equal attention in eradicating them.