Hon. George Mireku Duker, MP, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mines has motioned community engagement as the most effective measure in tackling the illegal mining menace.
According to him, for government to succeed in the fight against galamsey, it needs the support of communities in the mining areas and that attention should be focused on averting their minds to the destructive effects of galamsey.
Speaking during community engagement exercise at Manso Amenfi in the Wassa Amenfi Central District of the Western Region, Hon. Mireku Duker minced no words in declaring his complete abhorrence for all forms of illegal mining in the country.
He, however, opined that a holistic ban on all forms of small-scale mining activities in the country is not the panacea to the galamsey menace.
While welcoming military intervention in the fight, the Deputy Minister said that it will not address the problem in the long term as the military officers will not be stationed at the sites indefinitely.
Instead, he proposes meetings between the government, leaders and residents of mining communities to appeal to their conscience and get their support in the fight against illegal mining.
Reacting to calls for the government to place a ban on small-scale mining in the country, Hon.Duker drew the attention of the proponents of such calls to the untoward hardships a total ban would create in the country, particularly in mining areas.
He surmised that with the sector currently employing over one million Ghanaians, a ban would invariably spike the unemployment rate in the country by one more million persons.
Putting figures to help contextualize the situation, he said if each of the one million employees in the small-scale mining sector has four dependents, five million Ghanaians could be in trouble if the government heeds calls for a total ban.
