President John Dramani Mahama has admitted that Ghana’s security forces are overstretched, making the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, more complex.
Addressing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at a recent meeting, the President said troops are deployed across the country to manage multiple security challenges, including chieftaincy and land disputes, as well as border protection against terrorism.
“We have so many chieftaincy disputes all over the country, land disputes. You go to Sampa, we have troops there; you go to Gonja land, Savannah, there are troops there; you go to Bawku, there are troops there; you go to Nkwanta, our troops are there; and then our troops are also on the border to protect us from terrorism, and so they are spread thin,” he explained.
Mr Mahama cautioned that diverting soldiers to focus solely on galamsey-affected forest areas without boosting overall numbers could weaken other critical security roles.
The President noted that the fight is being coordinated through the National Inter-Agency Task Force on Illegal Mining (NAIMOS), which draws personnel from the police, army, national security, and other agencies.
“Happily, we have some additional troops coming with the winding down of some of the peacekeeping theatres, and so when they come, as many of them as possible, we will add them to the force so that we are able to dominate all the anti-galamsey sites and even to win the battle,” he added.
Source: AdomOnline
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