The New Patriotic Party (NPP) UK Bristol Chapter has demanded tougher actions to be taken by the government to fight the illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey), aside from the involvement of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
At a press conference on Monday, October 20, Michael Ampadu, Communications Officer, NPP UK Bristol Chapter, called for the naming and shaming of all the kingpins who are arrested in connection with galamsey.
“We need regular public updates, weekly or fortnightly, on progress in the fight against galamsey. The kingpins, both political and non-political actors with concessions, must be named and shamed. Agencies have the data. When the NAIMOS reaches a site, it should identify the owner. Publishing every site visited and its ownership will compel stakeholders to act. Introspection within NAIMOS is essential. With all due respect, there are concerns about insiders with links to illegal miners who tip them off before operations, advising communities to stay away and to move excavators. To curb this, any excavator found parked in a mining area should be impounded to trace operators, since they will return to use it once NAIMOS leaves. Immediate licence revocation should occur at any site where destruction or evidence of galamsey is found, whether or not an excavator is present, because that is someone’s concession. Licences should be restored only after owners reclaim the land and remediate the damage. We must empower communities to monitor illegal mining, trace the source of our gold, elevate youth and diaspora voices, support farming and legal mining jobs, and work with our chiefs to protect the land,” he said.
From the diaspora perspective, Michael Ampadu said that they have seen better how water bodies are protected, a development Ghanaian authorities can learn from to tackle the galamsey menace.
“Here in the UK, we walk beside man-made rivers that are clean, protected, and used for tourism and beauty. In Ghana, we have natural rivers, gifts from God, but we are destroying them because of galamsey. Our leaders have travelled; they know what good leadership looks like. So the question is not whether they know better. The question is why they are not doing better.
“Let me be clear: we are watching. Travel should not make leaders careless. We in the diaspora are speaking up. Galamsey is not just destroying land; it is destroying trust in governance, trust in law enforcement, and trust in the promise of Ghana.”
