Anti-galamsey taskforce warns community leaders against shielding illegal miners

A special anti-illegal mining taskforce of the National Concerned Small Scale Miners Association (NCSSMAG) has pledged to sustain operations against illegal miners, warning opinion and community leaders against sheltering such individuals in their communities.

The taskforce is intensifying its efforts to complement government initiatives to curb illegal mining and protect water bodies and forest reserves from further destruction.

During one of its operations at the Nyamedomso camp near Mankranso in the Ahafo Ano South West District of the Ashanti Region, the taskforce confronted illegal miners, destroying their makeshift sheds and mining equipment.

The team dismantled four Changfan engines and accessories, seized gallons of diesel and engine oil, and set ablaze three mining platforms as part of the crackdown.

The taskforce later proceeded to Amadaa and Kotokuom in the Atwima Mponua District, where illegal miners fled upon their arrival, abandoning equipment that had been used to pollute the River Offin.

After every operation, members of the taskforce also identify leaders of the communities to sensitise and caution them on the need to stop shielding illegal miners in their areas.

A member of the Taskforce Committee, Philip Bawa, has pledged the Association’s commitment to support the government in waging a relentless war on bad mining practices.

Mr Bawa expressed concern over the role of some community members and leaders in shielding illegal miners operating in their areas.

He warned that small-scale miners will not remain passive while illegal operators continue to pollute rivers and destroy the environment, activities that ultimately harm the entire mining sector.

“So we are taking it upon ourselves to complement the efforts of the government. We have formed our taskforce to undertake this activity across the country. We are warning anybody involved or intending to get involved in this kind of activity that it is illegal under the Minerals and Mining Act, Act 703, as amended by Act 995 (2019),” Mr Bawa stated.

He urged illegal miners to take full advantage of government mining interventions and desist from destroying river bodies and the environment.

Mr Bawa also warned community leaders who harbour illegal miners that they would not be exempt from the law.

“If you harbour them, the laws apply to you equally as the one who is operating,” he cautioned.

The taskforce includes divers who retrieve equipment left behind in river bodies after illegal miners flee the areas.