A large tract of cocoa farms at Aluku, near Nkroful, in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, have been destroyed through illegal mining activities going on in the area.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who visited the area with journalists, expressed concern over the development.
The MP, who is also the Deputy Minority Leader in the House, said those behind the destruction (galamseyers) came with prospecting license, but given the extent of destruction, it was obvious that they came to mine and not to prospect.
He alleged that he had drawn the attention of the Minerals Commission (MC) to the issue, but nothing had been done about it.
To him, looking at the destruction illegal mining has caused the people in the area and Western Region as a whole, it would be better if they take their destiny into their hands, because the government has failed them. He blamed the introduction of community mining as the main source of troubles in the area.
He said, community mining, as introduced by government, was nothing different from illegal mining. This is because the approach was not different from illegal mining.
According to the Legislator, there has been a monumental failure when it comes to issues of galamsey and the leadership this government has provided in addressing the menace.
He called for stakeholder meeting between the chiefs, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area and Opinion leaders, to jaw-jaw on how to deal with the galamsey menace.
“The devastation is heart-breaking and there must be a better approach in dealing with the galamsey – we must stop the finger pointing as to who is fighting galamsey and who is not”.
According to the MP, his decision to bring Journalists to inspect the devastation that galamsey has caused Nzema land was not to engage in finger pointing. This is because, “we know what the problems are when it comes to galamsey”.
