A man who claims to be engaged in illegal mining has in a video shared on social media, thrown a challenge to government on plans to clamp down on the trade, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ [gather and sell].
Research has shown that almost all water bodies and forests in Ghana were in danger as a result of the activities of the illegal operators.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, has given a three-week ultimatum to all illegal miners to stop their activities or be prepared to face the full rigours of the law.
The government, he said, was also coming up with a well-rehearsed strategy to implement drastic punitive measures to ensure that all people who connived to fund the activities of the illegal miners were dealt with.
“This time round, we will not take things lightly because we believe that China and India are the sources of funding for these illegal miners; so we are dealing with the root cause of the menace,” Mr Amewu said in an interview with Graphic Online on Tuesday.
But in a video shared on social media, a man who described himself as engaged in the illegal business dared government to rethink its position on the fight.
Introducing himself as a resident of Accra, near American House in East Legon, the man who said he is popularly known as Bronxy One (Bronxy Baako P3) took the video from a mining site.
He claimed he owned the pit, which had dozens of illegal miners operating at the time he shot the video. He also showed off an excavator, which he said he owned and was being used for his operations.
He asked President Akufo-Addo to rethink his pledge to fight illegal mining and sent an open invitation to government to come after him if they so wish.
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