Acting General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is urging the government’s anti-illegal mining task force, Operation Vanguard to tread cautiously and hasten slowly in its attempt to stop activities of illegal small-scale miners in the country.
“I think the taskforce didn’t go to those places on their own but was sent by government and that’s why they need to be cautious. I am with the President on his tour and I can state that this issue of galamsey is causing a lot of problems on the ground and people are feeling it and these affected people are reading a lot of politics into it” he noted.
The task-force clashed with some illegal miners who reportedly fired shots at them and pelted them with stones.
They also returned fire, leading to the death of a 30-year old man known as Acheampong.
Narrating the incident on Adom News, one of the miners said “On Sunday night around 8pm we heard that anti Galamsey taskforce has shot one illegal miner. The residents are very angry about the military taskforce. According to the residents we said they started shooting them and the military also revenged and shot the guy who has been killed.”
The taskforce named, Operation Vanguard was expected to clamp down on the illegal activity in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western Regions and enforce the country’s laws against the illegal practice which has devastated the country’s land and water resources.
While some argued that the move is a major step in the fight against the illegal activity, others expressed the concerns that the involvement of the military in stopping the menace will lead to more challenges.
But Mr. Boadu believes though the mission of the task force is to end illegal mining also known as ‘galamsey’, there is the need for broader consultation to be carried out to ensure the full support of the citizenry.
“They have all the rights to thrash these illegal miners but they should be careful because it can even affect people who have legal license to mine.
John Boadu continued that “They need to do proper consultation to differentiate between those involved and those using proper means to mine” he said on Accra based Okay fm.
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