Senyo Hosi, a member of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, is urging the government to deploy more soldiers to the various illegal mining (galamsey) sites across the country to stop the perpetrators.
He says sending out more soldiers to deal with the matter holistically will be better than the charade of attempting to fight the canker with just one group of soldiers, a practice which has not been fruitful after several attempts.
There have been calls from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), groups and individuals for the government to tackle the galamsey menace whose devastating effects on the environment has become an existential threat.
Mr. Hosi’s comments follow the recent deployment of the military –Operation Halt II –to galamsey sites to stop the operations of illegal miners.
According to the leader of the operation, their current mandate is stop those on the water bodies, before they focus their attention on the forest reserves.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, October 12, 2024, Mr. Hosi indicated that the government’s deployment of a single company to fight the menace is not going to yield any results.
He wants the government to send more officers to the field to tackle the matter once and for all.
“You’re sending the people there you know this company you’re sending is not big enough, it’s not even a full company from the education we’ve just received.
“So, if you know that there is a forest reserve side and there is a water body side, it’s not even about one water body, our army people, we are not at war, they are not fighting anything anywhere. This is the only war this country has. Why are you not deploying more than one company?
“Move some people to go and deal with forest reserve, move some people to go and deal with this river, deal with another river, so quickly we get some people out of the place,” he suggested.
The calls for the fight against galamsey has been intensified following the turbidity of water levels that have exacerbated over the years.
Following the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the canker, Organised Labour threatened a nationwide strike to force the government to put some things in place, including declaring a state of emergency and banning all forms of small-scale mining in the country.
However, the decision was rescinded few hours to the commencement of the strike, with the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) dissenting.
The group, despite Organised Labour’s suspension of the strike embarked on the unrest demanding the government to put out a drastic measure in tackling the problem.
‘They will pay back through their nose if…’ – Amoako Baah on Organised Labour’s suspected bribery
