The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Nii Osah Mills has accused some chiefs of promoting and engaging in illegal mining activities popularly known as galamsey.
He has promised swift action from his ministry to address the situation considering the negative effects of galamsey on the environment.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ZqfgugQcpQHuJlEYGkUG6ceHUx2yJo9P”]He suspects some chiefs collude with other persons to sell farmlands for illegal mining.
In an interview with Citi News, Nii Osah Mills stated that the situation has led to the depletion of many farmlands; a situation that must be halted.
“Sometimes in the community those who have farmland decide to join forces and do joint ventures more or less with those people who do the galamsey on it and they tend to share the proceeds,” he revealed.
He further told Citi News that “We have communities lined up against us, the government, who want to stop them from doing what they are doing and that is the level of the challenge.”
He stressed that he was not saying it was impossible to overcome it but “one of the things we are doing is to sensitize them.”
Earlier on Wednesday, President John Dramani Mahama announced that government would engage 400,000 youth under the alternative livelihood programme to prevent them from engaging in illegal mining.
He said out of the number, 100,000 would be trained under the National Youth Training programme.
President Mahama announced this when he called on Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II after breaking the grounds for the commencement of work on the cocoa roads rehabilitation programme at Kyebi in the Eastern Region.
President Mahama said the practice of illegal mining is becoming inimical to the growth of the country, and the establishment of alternative livelihood programmes would give government the opportunity to adequately deal with perpetrators.
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By: Selassie A. Amissah Mensah /citifmonline.com/Ghana