Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has criticised the government’s approach to tackling illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, saying that despite years of dialogue, the situation has only worsened.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Mr. Bentil said Ghana has witnessed “a lot of activities and talk but no real progress” in addressing the menace.
“We have talked and talked. I have said all kinds of things, some taken, some not taken. Activity is not the same as progress. We are seeing a lot of activities, a lot of stimulations, a lot of talk, but no progress,” he said.
He lamented that while the government had succeeded in creating structures like the Goldboard, passing laws, and setting up institutions to buy and trade gold, it had failed to stop illegal mining.
“Despite all the mountain of talks, when this government came in, nothing or not much has been done in terms of stopping galamsey. But we have been able to establish Goldbod, pass the law, pass the L.I., set up the institutions, go onto the ground, start buying gold—and we have mobilised millions of dollars’ worth of gold, sold it, and done all kinds of things all within this space. But we have not been able to stop galamsey,” he stated.
According to Mr. Bentil, the country’s focus has shifted from ending the destruction of water bodies and farmlands to harnessing gold from illegal sources to stabilise the economy.
“We have managed to set up systems to harness galamsey gold, convert it into dollars, and stabilise the economy—but we have not been able to stop galamsey. There is a lot of talk, no action, and the action is rather in harnessing galamsey gold to establish this economy or make it better,” he said.
He added that while some might see this as beneficial, it reflects misplaced priorities and a lack of sincerity in dealing with the problem.
“I have come to the conclusion that we will not win the galamsey fight. There is no sincerity in doing that. All of us are going to pay a very heavy price for some people’s private profit.
“It is not you and I who have to stop galamsey—it is the President, his cabinet, his ministers, and the people we have given authority to go and solve it. To me, they don’t have any interest in solving it because they think not solving it has better benefit for them politically,” he argued.
Mr. Bentil urged the public to focus on tangible results rather than political statements.
“Don’t watch the talk, watch the action. All the things I saw and heard yesterday were what I expected to hear, and I have been hearing them for over ten years. As we speak, there is more galamsey now than we had yesterday. New equipment has come into this country and found itself on galamsey sites,” he said.
He further noted that while Ghana continues to profit from the sale of gold mined illegally, the core issue of stopping galamsey remains unaddressed.
“Let’s be honest with ourselves. We are doing more to mobilise the gold than to stop the mining,” he concluded.
Source: Myjoyonline